Summing up 16 weeks of morning classes at CompTIA Tech Career Academy to launch her IT career, Sabryna-Joi King-Bell said, “The overall CompTIA experience has been excellent. This is my official launch into the IT industry, and I believe CompTIA has prepared me.”
King-Bell is one of 12 new graduates of CompTIA Tech’s IT-Ready Technical Support program, comprising the first 2021 class to finish training, prepare for CompTIA A+ certification, and connect with employers.
Career Services to Connect Students to Employers
As some graduates remarked, what sets CompTIA Tech apart from others is that career services are built into the full curriculum. The career services team starts meeting with students on day one of the training and stick with them throughout the 16 weeks to coach them on résumés, LinkedIn profiles, mock interviews and career fairs. They get to know each student and help them find the best employer connections.
Hailing from the Midwest and Carolinas, students joined together in their online training from Charlotte, Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Raleigh/Durham. Not only did they form a cohesive group from various locations, but they also came from a variety of other industries: transportation, office management, food service, personal care, retail and education, among others.
“This was a really great group in terms of soft skills and professionalism, and they bonded really well,” said Kate Kirschner, Senior Manager, Career Services, CompTIA Tech, as she continues to help the graduates find employment. “We are doing a weekly job search support group so we can connect once a week. One student already has received offers, and I think we'll have lots of hires in the next few weeks.”
At the end of April, King-Bell and her classmates met with multiple recruiters from Apex Systems, CRG Corp., Crossfuze, Everywhere Wireless, Keno Kozie and Top Dog PC Services.
Personalized IT Career Help & Advice
Graduate Horace Yim credits the technical résumé preparation that Career Development Manager Nicole Maseberg of CompTIA Tech gave each student as having the biggest impact on preparing him for graduation and meeting with employers. “The professionally revised technical résumé highlighted the skill sets, education, experiences, and certifications that are important to employers and have drawn the attention of recruiters,” said Yim.
With the new résumé, plus the mock interviews coordinated by Kirschner, “I was well-prepared to confidently speak with employers and to discuss my experiences, skill sets and technical knowledge during the interviews. That confidence and preparation have contributed to multiple offers of employment,” added Yim.
Yim even numerated a top 10 list of how Kirschner helped him and the rest of the class prepare to meet employers. “Kate genuinely cares about the success of her students. She absolutely did her best and spared no efforts in:
- Teaching students about LinkedIn and STAR interview questions (situation, task, action and result-based questions),
- Getting to know the students better through one-on-one meetings and group meetings,
- Connecting with employers,
- Organizing multiple mock interviews with recruiters,
- Arranging for alumni, recruiters and hiring managers to meet with the class,
- Coordinating the class’ career fair,
- Sharing job opportunities with students,
- Keeping in touch with students and offering advice throughout the hiring process,
- Being extremely responsive via Slack, LinkedIn, phone and emails, and
- Using positive language to provide new perspectives and keep students motivated despite setbacks,” listed Yim.
King-Bell added that learning how to give a “practiced and effortlessly flowing elevator pitch” with Kirshner made a big impact on her job search. “Kate is a mega resource, a real powerhouse. Her industry knowledge in both tech and recruiting was immensely useful. She provided targeted information for all of the interviews and summaries of the prospective jobs,” said King-Bell.
She also praised Anderson Lee, another senior career services manager for CompTIA Tech Career Academy, who introduced her to the IT-Ready Technical Support program at an Englewood Job Fair and Employment Resource Fair in Chicago. “His countenance and professionalism were unparalleled. When I was completing the application, I ran into some difficulty. I contacted Mr. Lee, and immediately he stopped what he was doing and helped me properly complete the application. I am extremely appreciative and grateful for his help,” said King-Bell.
