Razan, Senior Software Development Engineer in Test Lead at Cubic, tells STEM Returners the advantages of hiring a returner and the support STEM Returners provided the Cubic Team.
What have the advantages of taking on a STEM Returner as opposed to a graduate for example?
I have noticed an advantage with STEM returners where they tend to have vast experience in the industry. This allows them to have a skillset which we typically match perfectly on. Especially in my case where we are using a programming language not many projects use, hiring has been difficult. However we have found great success with STEM returners due to the fact they tend to have vast experience on tools and technology.
What has worked well about the approach?
I get to see candidates with varied technologies, not just the latest on the market, but technologies my company use and find it hard to match candidates with those exact skills.
What has the journey been like interviewing a STEM Returner, supporting them and permanent job?
By having the thorough candidate profiles sent over by the STEM Returners team, I already know quite a bit about the candidate before interview. During interviewing, I get to use the profiles as prompts, I am then able to converse with the STEM Returners team if I have any queries about the candidates. Having the STEM Returners team know the candidates so well, and being able to email them back and forth, really helps me get to know the candidate I am interviewing, unlike the traditional route where I really only can converse with the candidate and usually only in a formal interview type fashion.
How did the overall STEM Returners approach benefit you and your wider team?
The benefit to my team is visible with the STEM returners I already have on my team. The candidates I have hired have a confidence in their skills and are sharing them with the wider team who tend to be less experienced. The quality of candidates also shows, unfortunately sometimes you hire a candidate and they turn out to not be so successful in the role. We have had a 100% success rate with STEM returners in my team, it really fills me with confidence when we see a STEM returner candidate in our inbox.
Would you consider recruiting an industry returner in the future?
100%, the results I have had from the STEM Returners process have been so beneficial to my team and Cubic as a whole, I would absolutely consider them in the future.
What is the value of diverse hires for your department?
The value is of the knowledge shared. The diversity brings an extra dimension to the department which is needed. Tech/Software tends to have a certain demographic and with STEM Returners, the diversity has been so valuable. We have hired a variety of returners and the skills from is in invaluable to the department and the team.