Microsoft

Anne Gordon

"Without some knowledge of computers, you're going to have a difficult time getting a job anywhere. Based on the latest research by Virginia Tech, there are 346,000 unfilled jobs in the information technology sector."

"I'm sitting on a US Department of Labor and Job Corp panel, and we just developed a list of competencies that students need to be successful in the Information Technology sector. Quite frankly, I don't see that they're too different from the skills required to be successful in any other field--things like communications skills, problem solving skills, working with other people, etc. They are basically the competencies that are required for any field."

"Even if you're going to be a programmer and spend a lot of time working alone, you're still going to spend a lot of time working in tandem with other programmers. It seems as though the image of a programmer is that of someone sitting in a dark room staring at a computer screen, but that isn't necessarily the case anymore. There are so many collaborative efforts going on in developing programs."

"Organizational skills are important across the board. The ability to prioritize and determine what is most important is critical. In today's world, particularly the Information Technology sector, everything changes so quickly. You really need to be the kind of person who can organize not only their thoughts but also all elements of your workload."

"If you look at almost any job description on the Microsoft web site, almost all of them have organizational skills as a required competency. If you don't have that ability, you can get lost quickly in all the new technology. The industry is moving a lot faster than it used to. We move very very quickly at Microsoft and as technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in every other sector in business, other companies will be moving more quickly, as well."

"I would love to see more students in college focus on what they're going to do when they finish those four years rather than just enveloping themselves in an education. I would love to see them get business skills that will make them a valuable part of the workforce rather than coming out of college needing to retrain themselves. I think a lot of students are coming out of college today and still having to go back and get more training, in Information Technology or something else, to have good career opportunities."

"The information technology workforce shortage is a worldwide challenge. Companies are losing billions of dollars because we just don't have qualified people to fill the jobs."

"We're big believers in internships. In the research we've done with our business partners, experience is one of the number one things they look for in hiring people. Training is good. Experience is better."