About us Blog
Check out the latest stories, resources, news and views from the Summer of Tech crew
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Summer of Tech has impacted 2,898 talented individuals embarking on tech careers in 2024. 1,034 students and graduates attended 78 free events, and 132 were hired into tech internships and grad roles. Discover more insights into our 2024 programme.
2024 has seen huge student engagement, a super-sized volunteer crew, and very low job numbers. We took a deep dive into the data for our first 100 placements this year, showing markedly different hiring trends for new tech talent.
80% of New Zealand graduates have little or no confidence in their job prospects, according to a recent survey. What a waste of talent, potential, and social investment. Under-investing in interns and grads will have ripple effects for decades to come, NOW is the time to grow our future.
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Candidate resources
We have a range of bootcamps across various topics, so it can be a little daunting to figure out which one to attend. Bootcamps will teach you to be successful when you start your first job.
Want to know what skills employers think are important? We’ve looked at and listed all the key skills across all the jobs from 2022.
Four reasons why you should attend bootcamps. Here are four reasons why you should attend Summer of Tech bootcamps.
Life at Z Energy
Recently, we asked some of the talented team at Z Energy to answer a bunch of frequently asked questions about what it's like to work there. Sound like a team you'd love to join? Yeah, we think so too!
Design Portfolio: Best Practice for Entering the Industry
In the design industry, portfolios are essential. Without one in your job application, employers may turn you away. Even when you have one, how can you make your portfolio stand out?
Product designers Melody Renaud and Michael Szeto provided practical advice on how to optimise your design portfolio.
How To Accelerate Your Learning
Accelerate Your Learning is a bootcamp which teaches about the facts and techniques of learning and how to use these techniques in order to become an expert
Intro to Cloud Technology Platforms Bootcamps
What are cloud certifications and what is the cloud? The cloud refers to software and services that run on the internet, instead of on a local device. Discover more about Cloud Computing.
Funding support for employers hiring interns
Here are some avenues of funding available to support organisations hiring digital/tech interns in Aotearoa. Including government schemes: Callaghan Innovation R&D Experience Grants, TPK cadetships and MSD flexi-wage. Dunedin has it’s own JobDun programme too.
Mentoring and Coaching: “I don’t have the answer. You do”
Congratulations, you’re a mentor! This is a great opportunity for you to use your knowledge and experience to help guide a mentee (yes, they are called the mentee!). It is a great growth opportunity for both, but it can be daunting. Where do you start?
Being Your Authentic Self in the Workplace: Embracing Neurodiversity and Overcoming Challenges
In a recent event organised by Summer of Tech, the panellists shared their personal stories and experiences about embracing one's authentic self at work, especially for those who identify as LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent or have lived disabilities.
Supporting ADHD or Neurodiversity in your team
Employees with ADHD or neurodiversity can need a little extra support and tools to make them shine. Understanding how different team members approach a task or project and what level of detail or context you need to provide can lead to more successful outcomes for your next project.
Recruitment skill testing alternatives
Testing students to find out their skills and skill level is time consuming for both students and employers. There is little value to students from typical tests unless they get the role. Exercism.io provides a platform for students to prove their ability while learning and getting feedback on their skills. Employers can ensure that a student's ability is at their preferred standard.
Tips for Employers working with hard-of-hearing students
Supporting students who are hard of hearing is equivalent to supporting a remote worker. Technology advances and support from MSD enable employers to provide support for those who are hard of hearing via online meetings and interpreters. There is only a slight shift required in employers' behaviour to support hard of hearing team members.
Deliberate Practice and Learning Cohorts as an accelerating learning tool for teams
Deliberate Practice is an effective way to help individuals and teams learn and improve their skills. Learning together as a cohort, and employing Deliberate Practice techniques is a useful way to quickly build knowledge within a team of complex tasks and problems
Accelerate your team's learning journey using Perpetual Learning
Perpetual Learning is about providing feedback to help people build their mental models. Mob Programming and Peer Programming are key tools to accelerate your team's learning using advanced cognitive psychology techniques.
Self-awareness is a superpower for your team
Self-awareness is a superpower for those who invest time in creating habits to enable more reflection and constructive feedback.
Inclusive Interviews
If you’re keen to improve your inclusive hiring practice, you’ll need to review your interview process to ensure it caters for all your potential applicants. We take a look at ways to improve your inclusive interview practice.
Inclusive Hiring
You’ll likely have many processes and structures in place to support your employees at present, but how do you communicate these to future employees? And how could you build on them to attract an even more diverse workforce? We take a look at ways to improve your inclusive hiring practice.
Introducing “Supercharged Job Listings”
At Summer of Tech, we have worked with hundreds of employers to help them hire tech juniors. Over thousands of conversations, we've recognised three key challenges of hiring good people.
Volunteer Resource - Andrew Barret’s CV Review Protips
We asked Summer of Tech volunteer and CV reviewer Andrew Barret, a Principal Engineer at WiseAlpha, for some top tips on acing your CV and advice for future CV reviewers.
Student Story - Annie Foote
Annie Foote is a second-year student studying a Bachelor of Engineering, majoring in Cyber Engineering at Victoria University. At the end of her first year in 2022, she landed a Security internship at Helix Security Services.
Courteney's Story - LGBTQI+ and Neurodivergence In Aotearoa’s Tech Industry
Courteney is one of our talented Summer of Tech mentors (and 2017 alumni) who we recently caught up to discuss LGBTQI+ and neurodivergence in tech. Now a Power Platform Functional Consultant at Datacom, she generously shares her experience and advice with us about identity disclosure and how to ask for support at work.
Aotearoa's Got Talent - 5 Insights for Hiring Tech Interns and Grads in 2023
Although 2023 is predicted to be another challenging year for tech leaders, we’d like to share some myth-busting tips to give you a roadmap for growing and retaining Aotearoa's future tech workforce together.