Enthusiam, Four-Year DP Degree Win Job Offers in data Processing: Survey?

By Susan Blakeney, CW Staff, Computerworld, December 20, 1982.

JERICHO, N.Y. - What kind of background and what type of personality are employers really looking for in a data processing employee?

According to a recent national survey, the most highly prized education of all is the one that ends with a four-year DP degree and the most important personal characteristic is enthusiasm.

In the banking industry, for example, 60% of the banks surveyed said they hired only holders of four-year computer science degrees for their DP departments. The remaining 40% consider vocational school graduates as well as college graduates from disciplines other than DP.

The nationwide survey was conducted by Robert Half of Long Island, Inc., with the cooperation of Robert Half, Inc. offices around the country. It polled more than 35 top firms across the country.

In the survey, a number of banks cited internal transfers a one of the most desirable routes for DP hires. "Employees who have a good work record and have passed two Walden [Personnel Testing & Consulting Inc. computer aptitude] tests with 80% or above" are the favorites at European American Bank in Westbury, N.Y, according to Assistant Vice-President Joseph O'Day.

The banking industry's hiring practices were fairly representative of those at insurance, government agencies and consulting companies covered by the survey. The overwhelming majority prefer four-year computer science graduates, and all admitted to hiring a high percentage (50% or above) of internal transfers for their DP departments.

In the public utility sector, however, non-DP majors were considered just as attractive as DP graduates from four-year institutions. This group of employers said they too draw heavily from in-house transfers, but were unanimous in noting that many of their hires are the results of outside advertising. Consulting groups admitted hiring almost two-thirds of their personnel through classified ads.

This was not the case with banks or insurance companies, which reported hiring only 40% and 25%, respectively, of their DP staffs through outside ads. The government apparently hires equally from in-house and ads.

Other methods of hiring pinpointed by the survey included on-campus recruiting, employment agencies, walk-ins, unsolicited resumes and phone calls, all of which were found to be less popular than taking people from in-house. Insurance companies, the government and public utilities were the biggest on-campus recruiters, followed by bankers and consulting employers.

Thirty-eight percent of the consultants surveyed said they use employment agencies to fill DP slots, while only 20% of the banks do. None of the insurance or public utility companies use agencies.

Walk-ins and resumes weighed about evenly across the board. While not the preferred method of hiring, all of the companies surveyed admitted hiring 20% or more people from these methods.

Personality Traits

In descending order of importance, banking institutions seek people who display enthusiasm, a willingness to work and eagerness to learn and those who seem career-oriented and communicative and "team workers."

Insurance companies look for enthusiasm, aggressiveness, the work ethic, a willingness to learn and the ability to be a team worker in DP job applicants. Consultants want self-starters and people who display enthusiasm and aggressiveness.

Public utilities, on the other hand, try to hire people with patience, flexibility, willingness to learn, communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team. Government agencies look for enthusiasm, dedication, work ethic, and technical skills, according to the survey.