Employer Highlight: SolvIT

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SolvIT is a global technology solutions provider that deliver award winning IT innovations. Whether you need to secure your systems and applications, move to the cloud, or develop a whole new technological tool, SolvIT has the knowledge, resources, and expertise to implement a custom technology solution that meets all of your requirements.  We sat down with HR Manager, Denise Seruga, to talk more about SolvIT and careers in tech.

How would you describe your organization and what does your team try to solve?

SolvIT Technical Services Team includes a Systems & Development group of engineers and developers who collaborate with our clients and their suppliers to design new solutions and enhance existing programs.  This team specialized in high availability, high-traffic managed web hosting in traditional and cloud infrastructures. Among our successful and ongoing development projects are:

  • Automotive Diagnostic Applications for multiple vehicle support stages
  • Local storage, network monitoring, and offline functionality device
  • Web Applications architecture and infrastructure
  • Nationwide data acquisition, storage, and reporting/analysis
  • Local wireless networking & routing enhancements
  • Mobile Applications for cloud-based identity management
  • Online portal solutions
  • Specialized technical resources

In your opinion, how does Grand Circus prepare students for careers in tech?

Grand Circus provides the modern tools that you need to be effective, not only the technical skills, but how to acquire a skill that you may no have once you get the job. They prepare you for what to expect from the workplace, as well as how to be an efficient software developer. Anyone can learn to code, how to put it together as a career is a different story.

What are you looking for when hiring programmers?

Our current needs center around front and back end developers (Javascript and Java).  Having a passion for technology is a must. As important as it is to have the technical skills, it is equally as important that our team members are aligned with our culture in a mutually beneficial relationship.  Our goal is to provide an environment in which team members are challenged, self-motivated, and have a sense of ownership and accomplishment. Our team members exhibit our core values: Team Work, Caring, Exceeding Client Expectations, and Embrace Change.

What advice would you give someone considering a career in tech?

The Technology field is very similar in contrast to the medical field as it is extremely specialized.  One does not study the Human Heart if they are going to be a Brain Surgeon. This holds true in the technology field.  The advice we would give is to find what your interest is and make sure you focus your study on that area. For example, if you are interested in Coding we would recommend focusing on the aspect of Coding that inspires you the most.  Whether it is Web applications, Database Management, Hosting and Infrastructure or simple UI/UX make sure to Focus your studies around your interests.

More specifically, for someone without a background in tech or a computer science degree – what advice would you give them and what should they know going into tech?

The “Tech World” is ever expanding and is a permanent fixture for careers.  The rate at which new technologies are developing is unprecedented. Therefore, if you see yourself in this vast field, you will have to be prepared for life-long learning.  To remain cutting edge and relevant, most of this learning will be done independently or with bootcamp’s like Grand Circus. You will need a self-driven passion.

What resources would you recommend to new developers?

First and foremost, we believe that the most important resource that a developer can have is the people around you at the workplace.  Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes looking at lines of code can make all the difference when trying to troubleshoot an issue. In addition to the human resources aspect, there are many resources available to new developers.  There are Blogs, Team Sites, forums and groups that you can join to interact with other developers with a vast array of experience and knowledge to help you. Seek out these sites based on the area of experience you are looking to expand your knowledge base. Many of these forums and groups hold coding seminars and classes where you can meet face to face with local developers to share knowledge and troubleshoot issues that you may be having.

solvIT Logo

How do you support continued learning for your employees?

We understand that continued education is very important in the tech world.  However, we also know that experience is speaks volumes. Despite our growth over the past 19 years, we have been able to retain a “small tech company” feel.  This means that there are little to no obstacles, bureaucracies, or department layers to making decisions and getting your hands on new technologies. Additionally, our CEO and founder is a “technology geek” who encourages new ideas.  We encourage self-learning and have a training reimbursement policy as well. In the past, we have conducted internal training classes that meet once a week for approximately 12-15 weeks on Linux 101. Currently, we are teaching “Web Hosting”.

Is there anything else you’d like folks to know about your organization, becoming a programmer or Grand Circus?

As mentioned above, our culture is very important.  It sets the atmosphere in which our team members can shine.  We work hard at creating a place where people WANT to come to work.  Since 2012, we have been named a Top Workplace by the Detroit Free Press.  This is determined by a third-party survey in which our team members can anonymously give feedback on several aspects of working at SolvIT.  This award says that our team members want to be here and they like it. We also believe that we all have a responsibility in creating our work environment and atmosphere.  Not to mention, we believe that team members have the best perspective and advice. We have several avenues of communication and feedback such as our Open Door Policy, on-line “Anytime Feedback” and “Quarterly Engagement” surveys, as well as a monthly Town Hall meeting with SI executives.