The reporting conference of the Design Laboratory, which took place on May 27 at the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence of Moscow State University, was attended by representatives of companies and enterprises interested in introducing modern AI technologies into business and production processes. We talked with the HR director of one of the largest Russian manufacturing companies about how business and manufacturing are looking for young talents and how they interact with them, as well as how, after graduating from university, not to make a mistake in choosing a professional trajectory for the next few years.
– Given your watching, your opinion about the current generation of those who are now 22-25 years old is very interesting. How do they differ from those who started their careers 10-15 years ago? Do they have those very special abilities to work with information - and at the same time, problems with motivation and unjustified expectations (these are common cliches)?
– I am ambivalent about the theory of generations, but it is indisputable that each generation in its youth differs in some way from the generation of its parents: the external context inevitably leaves its mark. Those who are 30-40 years old today grew up in a relatively stable environment, but today's twentysomethings were already growing up in the context of a large number of events per unit of time, the constant transformation of the world. They can really be very fast if they need to find some information, but it's more difficult for them to get used to the architecture of an existing business.
What I notice in my own team and in the company as a whole is that as a rule, these guys need to "sell" the idea for longer, explain the meaning of what needs to be done and why. Recently, an intern, a graduate of Moscow State University, came to us: he wanted to work specifically in HR. We suggested that he take up a career-oriented product for younger schoolchildren: make a book for children aged 7-10 that would immerse children in industry topics. At first, our intern doubted that it should be a book: in his opinion, children read very little today. However, when he managed to convey the key meanings, he became proactive, talked to both representatives of enterprises and schools. Now the project is already close to the final stages, and the book seems to be working.
I see that young people really need support and mentoring, vision and immersion in a broader context. An experienced mentor is someone who will understand what you are interested in, hold your hand and help you land your interest in real things.
– What should a young specialist focus on who has already gained experience working successfully on projects during his student years, is thinking about his own startup, but suddenly receives an offer from a large company? What advice would you give in such a situation?
– Guys often have a desire to try their hand at entrepreneurship. If you have a reliable financial cushion that allows you to have no other income for a while, then you can try. But if there are obligations and there are no savings yet, then it makes sense to choose an employer who guarantees a stable salary and at the same time gives you the opportunity to turn your ideas into projects. Your startup is always about risks, and very rarely - a confident and quick result.
– When you conduct an interview with a young specialist with no work experience or with minimal experience, what do you pay attention to? If the resume so far contains only a diploma from a strong university, what indicators and personal qualities become decisive?
– If a very young person with no work experience comes to us – as a rule, it's an intern or a student - then I always look at curiosity. This is one of the traits that makes a person expand their worldview. Of course, we are all trapped by limitations due to the prevailing worldview, our skills and competencies. It happens that an employee solves the tasks assigned to him well, but some invisible blinders prevent him from developing and making a career: he does not try to see what is out there, beyond these blinders.
It is very important for me that a person asks himself the question – how does what I do relate to something else, to something more? I am paying attention to this interest. In addition, I look at the ability to think, speak without patterns, and reason on various topics. Lately, I've often asked candidates for their opinion on how they feel about new tools that appear in the world literally every day, and technologies that make work easier. I ask them what they use. And another important and difficult question is what does a person want? It is difficult to formulate an answer on the move. But what a person says will demonstrate their ability to reason and think. Analytical skills, teamwork, and, of course, critical thinking are also important.
– And what signals, on the contrary, do you worry about?
– First of all, it's a fake, the desire to appear to be someone you are not. If a person's self-presentation skills are developed above a certain level, if he is focused on "looking good", this is alarming. Conversely, it is fascinating when a person is able to talk about their mistakes, analyze them, and even smile at them. Of course, outright lying is also an absolute taboo. As well as a strong fixation on oneself, listing one's own merits without mentioning the team - for example, if we are talking about a project where the team was definitely present. Of course, there are positions for which we are looking for a deep lone analyst. But they are extremely rare, and for companies, in most cases, a person's ability to be a team player is still important.
– What do you observe that a young specialist usually lacks in his first job? What is not taught at the university, although it should be - and in the end it has to be taught?
– Most of the time, you have to learn more about how a business really works and what corporate culture is. When I was studying at Moscow State University, my supervisor used to say, "When you get into business, you'll understand what it's like to have complex projects." In large business, it is sometimes difficult for an adult to understand structures, policies, processes and how they interact with each other. And if we are talking about a holding company with a large number of legal entities, then even a person with experience may find it difficult to navigate - and even more difficult for a young person, you always have to lead by the hand.
You can teach all this inside an educational institution only through projects, internships, and internships. But in any case, something will have to be learned on the spot.
It is absolutely necessary to teach young people how production works, especially if a person has not been there before, has not spent some time among the people who work there every day. There are things that you need to see and try to do yourself in order to understand how it works.
What can be done in advance? We should probably interact more with business experts, use every opportunity to complete an internship, take tasks from the business and try to solve them.
We work with young people systematically, starting from schools, through technical schools and universities. We have several dozen partner schools. For several years now, we have been holding an annual Olympiad in which thousands of talented children from all over the country participate. The winners of the Olympiad are also a funnel for future employees of the company, many of them enroll in specialized universities. A serious flow goes to vocational training institutions: then they close our needs for working specialties, and if they decide to continue their education, they can pursue a career in engineering.
Every year we select students from all over the country who receive scholarships, and we invite the best to do internships with us. It happens that someone immediately joins the staff from an internship position, their share reaches 50%. In addition, we are opening our own academies at universities. For example, those who study at our IT Academy combine their studies with their main specialty and then receive an additional diploma. The first graduation of the Academy took place last year, and now several groups are already studying. There are other academies, for example, economics and business.
– Given the large–scale personnel development system, do you have to "intercept" candidates from IT companies? How does this work — the tasks, the scale, the compensation, the meanings?
– We are more interested in developing our staff for ourselves, and we primarily consider employees who have passed our talent training system for key positions. It is important for us that people grow within the company – this includes loyalty, experience, and an understanding of what is happening in business. But we are certainly looking at the market as well. There are a number of positions where we are purposefully looking for and forming an external talent pool (if we do not see who in the company will grow in the next 3 years in order to occupy these positions). Although, of course, there are also training tracks for internal reservists for key positions.
Nevertheless, in the case of young personnel, we primarily rely on working with schools. Competition for talented students is high, especially in regions where large industrial companies are present. Our task is to notice in time the student who shows high results in the profile we are interested in. At some point, a dilemma arises due to the fact that after successfully passing the Unified State Exam, a person may want to leave for the capital. There is no single recipe here and there cannot be, but the integrated approach itself works well. We show high school students the prospects of working in production, mentors take the initiative, and friendships are often formed. We also develop dynasties by involving the children of employees in the company's initiatives and projects.
– Do you use proactive hunting? What does the ideal candidate you're ready to hunt look like?
Large mature companies, especially geographically distributed ones with production facilities throughout the country, build their career guidance starting from schools, and sometimes even from kindergartens. There is an opinion that the main work with schoolchildren begins in grades 7-8, but it often turns out that it is already too late, because someone - perhaps competitors - has already "picked up" a talented child. This is especially true for students who choose a natural science profile: these are strong physicists, mathematicians, chemists, biologists and IT specialists. We work with universities in a more targeted manner: we need many more vocational graduates than university graduates. The contribution of a person who will come to an engineering position and influence the launch of new projects and increase production efficiency is potentially huge. In such a position, one employee can be worth fifty.
– When a talented young graduate comes to work, how do you plan to work with him? Are you making any efforts to increase a person's loyalty to the company?
– Many talented guys today are looking for a hybrid work format - and many companies offer it. Businesses, especially in the IT sector, try to create an interesting atmosphere in offices, creatively approach spaces, create areas for recreation and sports. Someone focuses on networking and creates conditions for the development of employees.
We see that young people are now very carefully looking at how and what they can learn in the company. Over the past 5 years, everything has changed quite a lot, and young employees today are very focused on learning, on acquiring new skills. Companies listen to this and create such opportunities - and this in itself is very important for talented young people who are looking for meaning and development. And for the companies themselves, it becomes very important to be able to create these meanings and captivate people with them.
