It’s not easy to get up and talk to people, but sharing the story of how you got into IT can be inspirational, especially to girls and young women looking for new career opportunities. Cristina Greysman, director of channel programs for Sungard Availability Services and a member of CompTIA’s Advancing Women in IT Community, has given a handful of talks about why IT is a great place for women. Her talks have been part of Dream IT, an initiative by AWIT with a goal of reaching 10,000 people with that message.
“We put a lot of focus on signing up to be a speaker, and we know that public speaking scares the hell out of people, but if anybody came and said, ‘Share your story with me,’ what person wouldn’t sit down and share what they know with somebody who asks?” Greysman said.
She’s done four presentations so far: two formal presentations with slides and questions afterward, and two informal roundtables where she simply shared her story — no slides or presentation necessary. “It was really, ‘Here’s why I entered the industry, here’s where I find it rewarding and why I’ve found success, and why I’d encourage you to check it out,’” she said. “I think that’s what made it genuine: I’m genuinely excited about what I do and the industry I work in, and I genuinely want women to consider IT as a career.”
Presentation Materials Provided
Greysman said the Dream IT presentation kit, which includes research, background and speaker notes, helped immensely with her talks. “I didn’t have to know the talk track,” she said. “It’s already there.”
The Dream IT Speaker Resources include a slide deck with notes, a promotional handout, videos that inspire people to consider IT as a career field, presenter notes, a sample Dream IT presentation, access to the AWIT Career Resource Center and a post-presentation wrap-up.
“I think it takes a lot of the onus of nerves and preparation off your shoulders because the presentation is fully baked, and you can choose what you want to cover,” Greysman said. “There are also a lot of tips that help make the presentation interactive.”
Dream IT also includes a Career Resource Center, a hub for people who want to learn about IT careers and promote women entering and advancing their work in information technology. The CRC includes a breakdown of dozens of IT career areas to consider, plus IT career tips, links and AWIT community resources. For inspiration on sharing your IT story, read through the IT Career Testimonials, featuring many members of the AWIT Community.
One of the most attention-grabbing parts of the Dream IT presentation takes a general interest and adds IT to come up with job possibilities. For example: If you like helping people, add IT and you could become an information medical specialist, user experience designer or an IT recruiter. Greysman said this part of the presentation always lights up the audience as students consider their options, and it also helped her when a college student pursing human resources asked about ways to leverage the computer courses she’d been taking.
Greysman walked her through some ideas, and they talked through the pros and cons of minoring in computer science versus IT. “The presentation prompted her to ask the question and I was better able to answer her questions because of the content in the Dream IT presentation and my own experience,” she said.
Help AWIT Meet Its Goal
You can help AWIT meet its goal of reaching 10,000 people with the Dream IT message by sharing your story. First, get your thoughts together on how you entered the IT field and the people and things that helped you along the way. Then, find an audience. Girl Scout troops and student organizations are a good place to start. See if groups in your area are looking for career-related talks and organize a gathering, formal or informal.
Going in, it’s important to know the age group you’re speaking to. Professionals and college students are likely to be more engaged and interested in the steps to take to enter the IT field, while high school students might offer more of a challenge. “The high school students I talked to were a mix of reactions: a third was interested, a third was confused and another third was bored out of their minds,” Greysman said. “My favorite audience is definitely the college students. They haven’t made that decision yet and they’re still open to possibilities. They genuinely want to understand how to start their careers.”
When she spoke to college students, Greysman spent as much time answering questions as she did giving the presentation. “They wanted to know, ‘What’s a day in the life of your job?’ which I thought was an interesting question, and one that I wasn’t expecting,” she said.
No matter who you’re speaking to, remember that you’re planting a seed — an idea that could germinate. Even if middle school students aren’t planning their career futures, a talk on science or technology can keep them interested in STEM during the years when they’re liable to opt out of those interests, Greysman said.
Getting into schools to share the message of IT also offers a new perspective on today’s educational climate. Greysman said a visit from students on Techies Day, sponsored by a local economic development program, opened her eyes to today’s classrooms. “I found out they’re allowed to use their phones in the classroom and that homework is done through eLearning systems — I was blown away by that,” she said. “I definitely think the timing is right for this kind of message.”
Making a Difference
Sign up here to become a Dream IT speaker and share your IT story. Greysman stressed that the size of the audience doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you can get the message out. “I don’t need to be helping a million people; I just want to help one person and they’ll pay it forward,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 8 people or 150 — it’s a valuable conversation.”
Michelle Peterson is a communications specialist for CompTIA.
