Reflections from a Tech Recruiter at Capital One

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Today's guest blog features Liz Beecy, Ohio State Tech Recruiter for Capital One.

The Future Direction of Tech & Ways to Prepare Now 

Technology is constantly evolving and engineering in the corporate banking world is no different. There is a focus on customer experience while utilizing the latest tools and technologies. Although, we have found it takes more than just the latest and greatest technology to be successful. It takes great people. We have found that investing in the development of our associates will lead to greater success as an organization and the Technology Development/Internship Programs are a direct reflection of our emphasis on associate development. Since technology is ever changing, we need to change with it. Working in an agile environment allows us to do so. Our engineering teams are about 6-10 engineers per team working to drive products to production across multiple functions.

With such a wide range of teams, tools, and tech you could be working on, it seems impossible to be fully prepared when entering your internship or full-time job. There are ways to start now. Get involved! The more you can lean on others, brainstorm, knowledge share - those are going to be your success stories. We’ve found associates who were the most successful in our program tend to be the ones that can think outside the box, gather/offer perspective and not be afraid to try new things. Whether you’re getting involved on campus with a student org, volunteering, participating in hack-a-thons - it demonstrates an eagerness to learn. And with technology constantly changing, we are in need of continuous learners. 

The internship offers an opportunity to do just that. Interns get an opportunity to really own the project during the 10 weeks. There are mentors, lunch & learns, and other interns. In the end, you present your findings to your team and other leadership throughout the organization. You own your development - we supply the resources.

Learning by Doing: Identifying an Internship that Supports Skill Development 

It’s important to understand the nature of the internship you’re considering. A common question for recruiters is “what project will I be working on?” or “what team will I be placed on?” My advice: tech is always changing and many times there is something new and exciting to learn every few months or few years. So when deciding on your internship or full time role, focus on the development the organization can offer. I’d steer towards questions that center around what you can learn during your time with the company, what resources are given to interns/associates, what is the culture like and what networking opportunities exist for associates. Our programs are designed to broaden your skill sets and give you all the resources at your disposal to learn, dream and deliver amazing results. 

Strategies for Acing a Technical Interview 

For Capital One, technical proficiencies are one piece of the puzzle. We’ve found that successful associates have a strong communication style, coding (whichever language you’re most comfortable), and problem-solving abilities. I recommend reviewing the book, Cracking the Coding Interview. Our case interview focuses on the candidate’s ability to think logistically and reason through a problem with another person. During these interviews, it is important to prepare for technical questions but even more important to understand how you collaborate with others while problem solving. For interviews more similar to the case study, I recommend practice solving a problem with a friend. Take a real life technical issue, look up to see if additional data supports your claim one way or another then provide a recommendation or finding. Who knows, you may find a better solution! Just remember: communicate, collaborate, and celebrate the hard work you’ve put in thus far.  

"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing." - Theodore Roosevelt

ECS is proud to collaborate with Capital One as part of our ECS Partner Program.