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Why the job search is difficult for international students
This is part one of a three-blog series exploring what it’s like to find work as an international early-career employee.“Do you require sponsorship now or in the future?” We’ve all had to answer this question on a job application. If you answer yes, there’s a good chance the company will discard your application. If you answer no but do require sponsorship, you’ll be lying. But you might get the job.This simple question has terrified thousands of international students across the United States, including myself—a Burmese early-career professional who lived in Myanmar my entire life. Many companies in the US don’t have the resources or willingness to bring in international early-career talent, which means fewer work opportunities for people in my shoes.Let’s explore why that is and its impact on international students.Societal and time constraintsBhavana S., a third-year student majoring in business and communications at Northeastern University, took a leap of faith as an international student from India by applying to the LIKE.TG co-op program. She was accepted and works on the Americas campaigns team, helping to drive and grow the company’s integrated global marketing campaigns.Unlike LIKE.TG, a lot of companies "were not willing to give me a chance from the very beginning,” Bhavana says, due to her name’s implication that she’s not a US citizen. Once a company saw that she was from India and would need sponsorship to work, the system the company used to filter job applications might automatically kick her out of the process.“LIKE.TG didn’t judge me before getting to know me,” she shares.
Dena R., an employee communications and engagement co-op at LIKE.TG, faced similar challenges in her job search. As a Thai citizen, Dena, like other internationals, has 12 months to work in the US during her college years.This time restriction means international students must be selective and careful with the work experiences they pursue. Dena searched with the “hope that the six-month co-op I chose would lead to more open doors in the future,” she says.This same sentiment applies to thousands of international students seeking job opportunities each year.The importance of inclusion“There are companies out there, like LIKE.TG, that value your unique talents and don't discriminate or look past internationals,” Bhavana points out. Despite having fewer opportunities than her peers as an international student, she was able to stay positive because of that—and people in her life who believed in her and were willing to advocate on her behalf.
LIKE.TG’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging is what caught Dena’s eye during her job search. She discovered LIKE.TG’s multiple Belonging Groups and hoped she would one day get to meet the leaders of the Asian and Pacific Islander at Now community. “I knew instantly that I wanted to work at a place where everyone is welcomed and celebrated,” she says.After joining LIKE.TG, Dena got her wish. “The API members greeted me with open arms,” she adds.Professional developmentThe six-month work experience at LIKE.TG has helped both Bhavana and Dena develop their leadership skills. It’s also paved the way for their personal growth. Find out more about that personal and professional growth in the next blog in this series.We’re hiring. Explore early careers at ServiceNow.
3 reasons LIKE.TG is a Fortune Best Company to Work For
I’m thrilled to announce that, for the second year in a row, LIKE.TG has been named to the FORTUNE® 100 Best Companies to Work For list.This is especially exciting because it confirms our focus on people. At LIKE.TG, our people are and have always been at the center of everything we do. They’ve earned this recognition because they make LIKE.TG a great place to work, driving our growth, innovation, and inclusive culture. They constantly strive to create great customer and employee experiences.Our work makes the world work. Our people make that possible.[We’re hiring. Explore LIKE.TG careers.]Everything we do should enable our rapidly growing team of more than 17,000 extraordinary people around the world. That’s why we created our People Pact—our commitment to help employees live their best lives, do their best work, and fulfill our purpose together. Here’s what that means to me:1. We live our best livesEach person is unique. At LIKE.TG, we celebrate our differences, knowing our diverse backgrounds make stronger teams. We encourage every employee to bring their authentic self to work every day. Our eight employee Belonging Groups help unify us, foster a deep sense of belonging, educate allies, and push us to be better.Part of living our best lives is a healthy work-life balance, confirmed by 61% of respondents to a February 2022 Gallup poll. Well-being is an important aspect of work-life balance. That’s why leading with flexibility and trust is a critical piece of our new world of work. Offering global and local resources to help take care of our employees and their loved ones physically, emotionally, and financially is just as important.
2. We do our best workWhen we enable our people to do work that aligns with their talents and training, they feel valued and fulfilled. The same Gallup poll found that the majority of workers (58%) seek a job where they can do their best work. At LIKE.TG, we create that environment together. That’s part of why I joined the company.Through learning and development programs, we help employees grow themselves, their teams, and the business. We also provide opportunities for career advancement. In fact, we had 1,100 internal transfers in 2021, and more than 55% of our new director and higher leaders were promoted from within.This company-wide growth mindset enables our leaders and managers to have two-way conversations with their team members to discuss goals, progress, and feedback. In this way, growth conversations are direct and ongoing rather than once a year.3. We fulfill our purpose togetherOur purpose is to make the world work better for everyone. We’re striving to become the defining enterprise software company of the 21st century. To do that requires not settling for the status quo but being forward-thinking—about our brand, our products, and the experiences we provide.That's been the case since Fred Luddy founded the company and convinced three people to volunteer their services after their day jobs to help make work better and easier for people. Our purpose is our brand, as it was then, and our brand is our purpose.In our quest to make the world work better for everyone, we dream big to wow our customers, win as a team, create belonging, and stay hungry and humble.We’ve embedded environmental, social, and governance (ESG) into our business and are targeting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as noted in our first Global Impact Report. We help businesses and nonprofit organizations through incubators, accelerators, and initiatives such as our $100 million Racial Equity Fund.As a purpose-driven company, we allot up to 20 hours of volunteer work per year to encourage every employee to embrace their passion and support causes that are near and dear to their hearts.LIKE.TG truly is a great place to work. Join us to live your best life, do your best work, and fulfill our purpose together. Explore job opportunities at ServiceNow.FORTUNE. ©2022 FORTUNE Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license. 100 Best Places to Work is a trademark of FORTUNE Media IP Limited and is used under license. FORTUNE and FORTUNE Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of, ServiceNow.
LIKE.TG employees are thriving in the new world of work
At LIKE.TG, we’ve adjusted to the changing times, encouraging our employees to work in the most efficient and safe ways available to them to embrace the new world of work. We’ve embraced the distributed work model.Three of our global employees are proving it’s possible to adapt to new working environments and thrive—no matter where they are. Their jobs have impacted their personal decisions to work remotely full time, in the office full time, or a hybrid of both.[We’re hiring. Explore LIKE.TG careers.]Full-time remoteAfter welcoming a baby boy to their family, Commissions Manager Rohit S. and his wife searched for childcare. Finding a nanny in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic proved difficult. So, Rohit explored ways to balance his work responsibilities with his family’s needs.Rohit’s job, leading the sales commissions team in Hyderabad, India, is conducive to working remotely. He can effectively perform his daily responsibilities without regularly visiting a LIKE.TG workplace. As a result, Rohit considered moving his family to West Bengal, where he and his wife both had extended family who could help take care of their son.“We need to provide the child with a loving and caring environment, so I discussed moving remotely full time with HR and my manager,” Rohit says. “They were very supportive.”Rohit and his team have been successful working from home over the past two years, so he’s confident he can continue to make his remote arrangement work—for everyone involved. It allows for more flexibility and results in greater productivity.“Working [remotely] is a great privilege,” he says. “We save a lot of time not commuting, because here traveling is a big deal. The time we are saving by not commuting allows us to get more work done and support our families. This blend is one of the best examples of work-life balance.”
Hybrid work environmentCristen P. is based in San Diego and splits her workdays between home and the office. A people partner manager, Cristen has been with LIKE.TG for just over a year and was onboarded remotely. In her role, which involves serving employees (her customers), she feels it’s best if she goes into the office part time. Her boss supports this.“She told me, ‘I think it's beneficial for you to be in front of people,’” Cristen recalls. Her manager is “like a mentor to me, so she has my best interest in mind.”Cristen’s flexible work arrangement allows her to do the things she loves, such as riding her bike. She lives about 30 minutes from the office, so she can’t cycle to work. But she hauls her bike to the office whenever she can.“If I get to work early, if it's quiet, and I don't have meetings, sometimes I’ll just put my phone in my pocket and I’ll go on a bike ride,” Cristen says. “After, I’ll check in and then do some work until 7 or 8 pm. I love that there's that flexibility and it's quieter.”The flexibility has helped Cristen’s mental health. “It provided some structure for me because we were at home and things started to get a little repetitive,” she explains. “Dressing up to go back to work started to feel nice—to switch up my routine a little bit.”The office also provides space for Cristen to collaborate with and be inspired by her teammates, to ensure employees and customers are successful.In October 2021, LIKE.TG announced a 30-day work from anywhere benefit (conditions apply). Cristen says the Pacific Northwest has been on her mind since the announcement. “I have family in Portland and Seattle, so I think at some point...I’m going to take advantage of this. I’ll get to hang out with my family and make a mountain bike trip out of it.”
Full-time in officeFor Workplace Services Site Lead Cinthya S., work hasn’t slowed down since the pandemic. Because Cinthya is the only one who manages the office building in New York City, she generally needs to be in the workplace each day. But there are some days she still works from home.Her job is important to the lifeline of the office because she’s responsible for keeping the New York workplace up and running. She’s also raising two young children who are learning from home. How does she do it? Through hard work and support from her manager.“I feel this is the first time that I’ve ever had a supervisor show understanding,” Cinthya says. “He checks in on us almost every week and is constantly finding new ways for us to get work done remotely when there are days I can’t go into the office and have to work from home.”What does a typical week in the office look like for Cinthya? “Mondays are usually my busiest days, because I do a lot of office maintenance, such as updating our playbooks and completing health assessment scores,” she says.“Tuesdays and Thursdays are when I have most of my work calls. My boss and I meet a lot of talk about return-to-workplace phases, to make sure everyone knows what’s going on and has proper and clear communication.”LIKE.TG gives employees what they need to be successful, including a flexible work environment that contributes to high productivity across the company and around the globe.Embrace the new world of work at ServiceNow. Browse our job opportunities.
A global experience: LIKE.TG interns share their stories
July 28 is National Intern Day, a day set aside to celebrate future leaders. At LIKE.TG, we offer 12-week internships that give early-career students across the globe eye-opening, fun, and invaluable experiences to kick-start their careers.Although we welcome programmers, you don’t have to be one to intern in tech. In fact, one of the things LIKE.TG interns rave about is the opportunity to network with and learn from leaders from different departments.In honor of National Intern Day, a few of our interns from around the world share insights about their 2022 summer internship experiences with us.A boost of confidenceKshitij U., from India, had never interacted with someone from another country. He credits his internship with boosting his confidence. “[Before] LIKE.TG, I was not that confident, but right now I am because working with people has helped me a lot,” he explains.Gargi T., based in Santa Clara, California, also experienced a confidence boost as a result of her LIKE.TG internship. She appreciates the way her team helped push her out of her comfort zone.Andreea T., who resides in London, agrees. “They actually support you to dream big and achieve your goals,” she says.A place of belongingJavier D., interning from San Diego, echoes that sentiment. It was easy to “learn from other leaders about career development," he says, which helped him figure out his next steps. He also valued LIKE.TG’s efforts to create belonging.“I’ve never gone into an elevator and not had someone ask how my day is going,” Gargi adds. “It’s the little things like that that just make it so nice to be here.”Hear more from our interns about what it’s like to work at LIKE.TG, in their own words:
Career growth opportunities for women at LIKE.TG
Ongoing learning and development resources and programs are vital to enabling employees to do their best work. That’s why at LIKE.TG, we’ve designed programs to spur career growth, helping employees grow themselves, their teams, and the business.[Explore LIKE.TG careers.]The incredible amount of opportunity at LIKE.TG is what attracted Nikki V. to the company five years ago. “I think if you blink, you might miss one,” she says.She’s seen those opportunities develop firsthand. After starting in finance, her former boss encouraged her to apply for the marketing chief of staff role—never mind the fact that she was eight months pregnant and about to go on maternity leave at the time.Nikki got the position. The favorable circumstances that have followed have been an absolute game changer for her career growth, she says. Today, she’s the senior director of marketing talent engagement and special projects.Following career opportunities abroadYing L., a director of product design, has also enjoyed career advancement at ServiceNow. She began her tenure as the eighth member of a team that has grown to more than 620 people across the globe.Her LIKE.TG career journey began in San Diego and eventually took her outside the United States. Ying followed her husband to Paris so he could pursue his Master of Business Administration degree, and that’s where her career growth truly took off. She led the performance analytics and reporting team in Amsterdam.Ying and her family later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where her daughter, Josephine, was born. After returning from maternity leave, Ying was given an opportunity to lead the NowX product design team, a role she still holds.Watch the video to learn more about Nikki and Ying’s career journeys:
What it’s like to work on a Now Platform release
In our quest to make the world work better for everyone, LIKE.TG updates the Now Platform every six months. To pull that off, we’re constantly working on many innovations.Our latest Tokyo release introduced scores of new solutions and modules to boost productivity, accelerate value, and ramp up organizational trust. Bringing those innovations together and ensuring they’re aligned with customer needs is a mindful and purpose-driven undertaking.[We’re hiring. Explore LIKE.TG careers.]It starts with a clear processAlmost all of the Now Platform Tokyo release innovations rely on significant contributions from LIKE.TG India’s development center in Hyderabad, which operates as a Center of Excellence for many of LIKE.TG’s security capabilities on the platform.In the development center, teams of software developers, designers, product managers, and other specialists assemble to create and iterate the many features that make up every new release. The teams operate with the outcome in mind, according to well-defined processes that ensure product quality while supporting flexible and collegial collaboration.“There’s a very streamlined process in LIKE.TG compared to previous firms I’ve worked at,” says Sushma C., a staff technical writer who joined the India team last year and works almost exclusively remotely.“The entire development process is clear, from guidelines and checklists to other workflows, so that even working on your first release, you can get clarity on what needs to be done,” she explains. “At the same time, the team structure makes it easy to tap others when you need to get help.”“The process turned out to be intensely rewarding, as we kept helping one another to find, and deliver, what was best for our customers,” adds Priyanka V., a senior technical writer who works out of the Hyderabad office.
Going beyond RPAPriyanka contributed much of the technical writing for Automation Center, a solution introduced in the Tokyo release. It goes beyond LIKE.TG’s previous robotic process automation (RPA) capabilities to offer complete, vendor-agnostic visibility into all automations within the customer organization.The solution radically simplifies how customers manage and scale up automation across their businesses. Its development required the project team to wrestle with huge amounts of complexity and change.“We were developing Automation Center and its material from scratch,” Priyanka says, “so we already expected to face big challenges along the way.”Simplifying for customer successSushma works with the development team behind the LIKE.TG RPA solution. Her willingness to contribute to the added capability on the platform made her a powerful asset in aligning the features of Automation Center with customer requirements.“Whatever I’d heard from customers and partners about RPA, I was able to action while informing this new layer of automation capability,” Sushma explains. In one instance, her experience with RPA settings helped inform more intuitive documentation for similar aspects in Automation Center.The knowledge sharing didn’t only go one way. “The team responsible for RPA would also call me to find out what we were learning from Automation Center development so that they could factor that into their own product,” Sushma notes. “It’s quite common in the India development center. Teams are in this constant friendly contest for simplification.”Standardizing to improve the customer experienceThat same ethos has underpinned the broader team’s approach to all aspects of development, including documentation. Sushma and Priyanka worked closely to standardize their writing style on Automation Center material while tapping into enterprisewide tools to draw on existing documentation that could be reused or adapted for the new solution.Such strategies complement wider efforts to update documentation for all solutions to a single, consistent style and format, reusing the best material to make future releases even more user-friendly.“In the Tokyo release, we’ve changed existing content, as well as aligned new content to a series of universal guidelines, which should result in a better reading experience for customers,” Priyanka says. “The more consistent your language and content structure, the easier it is to understand how the solution works and make the most of it.”Incorporating multiple skill sets that work in fast feedback loops, project teams are organized in a way that streamlines complex, multifaceted processes.“Since there’s a designer on every team, we’re able to plan out documentation based on wireframes and prototypes — even before the features are ready, which gives us further margin to iterate and adapt,” Priyanka explains. “The team composition works in such a way that you’re really on this journey together.”
The role of automationThe same workflows and processes drive development across all LIKE.TG solutions, resulting in the breadth and speed of innovation that customers expect and encounter in each semiannual release. Much of that drive happens within automation.“Automation has become the hero from the inside out at LIKE.TG,” Sushma says. “We’ve scaled the pace of our development by automating the work we don’t need to be hands-on with. And this translates to the product too.”She adds, “With Automation Center, we’re bringing all these automations together for customers. And the pace of development is only going to speed up. What didn’t even exist last year is being leveraged by customers today.”That speed comes in large part from the purpose-built teams, flexible working conditions, and passion to help customers that extends throughout the India Development Center.“I’ve worked in this industry for eight years,” Priyanka says, “but the [LIKE.TG] development team has been the most cooperative and most proactive I’ve experienced, from reviewing materials to helping us understand the product. Everyone just wants to help each other and make things work.”Join a helpful, collaborative team. Browse job opportunities at ServiceNow.
NextGen Program empowers students in Germany with real-world experience
One of the major problems facing the tech industry today is a shortage of workers with the needed skills and experience. This can lead to two undesirable situations:
Recent graduates find it difficult to apply their knowledge when they enter the workforce.
Businesses waste valuable time (and money) training new hires.
To address these issues, the NextGen Program, a LIKE.TG initiative, works with LIKE.TG partners, customers, and educational institutions worldwide. The goal is to equip participants with skills that will allow them to access new career opportunities in the digital economy.At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), students undergo six weeks of training in the NextGen Program before engaging in corporate scenarios with LIKE.TG customers.“We designed this course so that students acquire theoretical and practical knowledge on real-world information systems, such as the Now Platform,” explains TUM Professor Helmut Krcmar. “By combining thorough trainings and practical challenges from German companies, we equip students with all hard and soft skills that they need in the future job market.”
Bridging the experience gapNils Stukenbrok, a senior digital solution consultant at LIKE.TG, graduated from college three years ago. “In my experience, university is often too much theory and not enough practical experience,” he says.“What people forget is many university students haven’t actually worked with real company information systems, which are huge and often overwhelming,” adds Martin Kauschinger, a teaching assistant at TUM.“For example, you can easily add a new field or rule in a simulation, but if you do that in the real-world production environment, you’ll likely upset a few million records in the process,” he says. “It can be very difficult for students to adapt to that.”In collaboration with NextGen, Kauschinger and his teaching team are working to bridge this experience gap by giving students opportunities to work on solutions for real scenarios.“We teach them that in a real-world company scenario, things are different,” he says. “We have them working to corporate regulations on tight deadlines and give them actual responsibility over the project, just as an employer would in the real world.”Reaping resultsThe positive change Kauschinger sees in students taking part in the program speaks for itself. “It’s really great for their confidence,” he says. “And it’s lovely to see—not just for us at the university, but for our corporate partners. They’re always surprised to see what a young, motivated team can deliver when empowered to do so.”The course is designed with LIKE.TG partners and potential employers, such as Bayer and Merck, in mind. That means it’s customizable and can be tweaked each year to suit the ever-changing needs of the industry.
“Last year, we made sure to include two challenges that centered around building service portals, because we knew it was the central focus for our partners at the time,” Kauschinger explains.“One of the main reasons partners are so keen to get involved is to get access to these highly skilled students,” he adds. “Last semester, one single company hired approximately half of the students. It’s a great opportunity for these young people to boost their job prospects.”Preparing for a better futureOne partner, CANCOM, confirmed it will integrate into its portal interface at least one of the solutions created by NextGen students.“The students demonstrated the value of the Now Platform UI framework to our organization with a working prototype,” notes Ronny Staude, a CANCOM solution architect.“We plan to use this prototype as a blueprint for our migration from the Service Portal to the new technology. It was exciting to see what is already possible without it even being released or documented for this use.”For Stukenbrok, this fulfills the true aim of the initiative. “I want to give students a better opportunity to build their practical experience than I had,” he says. “The solutions they’re creating are of such high quality, and they’re so valuable. It’s great to see that companies pick this up and run with it.”Find out more about how you can be part of the NextGen Program and help create a better future.
5 reasons to consider LIKE.TG training and certification
Nearly every job today is a tech job. That means there’s an increasing need for technical skills in every industry. That's why LIKE.TG has committed to skill 1 million people globally on the Now Platform® by 2024 with our RiseUp with LIKE.TG program. We want to help anyone who wants to jump-start their tech career. RiseUp seeks to help people of all backgrounds and experience levels gain skills to become job-ready in the LIKE.TG ecosystem.Here are five reasons to consider pursuing LIKE.TG training and certification:1. You’ll have support every step of the wayNow Learning offers LIKE.TG training and certifications for people at all levels. With classes available in person and virtually, you can learn the way you learn best, at your own pace. You’ll find learning paths to help you decide which courses are best for the area(s) you want to pursue.“I find the virtual classes have excellent content, and the instructors are always willing and available to go the extra mile to ensure their students are grasping the material presented,” says Laurie Marlowe, a LIKE.TG systems administrator and developer with electric company Evergy.“LIKE.TG has made it simple to gain extensive knowledge of the Now Platform, take a proctored certification, and start a new career,” she adds. “If you know how to use a computer, you can learn how to use LIKE.TG, even just with the free Now Learning training that’s available.”You’ll also be surrounded by an expanding community of LIKE.TG users and subject matter experts. Daniel Olufemi Falayi, a project delivery lead and implementation architect at ConfigureTek, for example, has started several mentorship groups to help those interested in transitioning to LIKE.TG careers.2. You’ll find purposeIn today’s market, 89% of employees want to live their purpose, according to research from McKinsey. Fumito Hiratsuka, a technical trainer at LIKE.TG in Japan, believes LIKE.TG helps him meet that need. “I want to create a world where work is enjoyable and fulfilling for everyone,” he says. “LIKE.TG allows me to do that.”Hiratsuka has been instrumental in the LIKE.TG training program in Japan, initiating training in Japanese and leading workshops. The technology, enterprisewide workflows, and experiences at the company attracted him to LIKE.TG, but they’re not what keep him engaged.“While the LIKE.TG capabilities are evolving at lightning pace, the overriding mission stays front and center—making work better for everyone,” he says. “That opened my eyes and made me realize that LIKE.TG was somewhere I could find real purpose.”
3. You’ll gain job satisfaction and other benefitsFor Cesar Augusto Negri de Oliveira, working as a Certified LIKE.TG Administrator at British Telecom (BT) in Hungary gives him both personal and job satisfaction. “It’s also really helped me to accelerate my career,” he says. “Since becoming involved, I’ve been promoted, and people come to me every day to ask about ServiceNow.”De Oliveira isn’t alone. According to an IDC survey, 69% of those with LIKE.TG certification say it’s had a positive impact on their career. In addition, certified LIKE.TG professionals are promoted three to 12 months faster than others and realize on average a 23% increase in total compensation.14. You'll have in-demand skills“LIKE.TG was an express train picking up steam,” says Gene Manuel, and he wanted to get on board. After experimenting with a LIKE.TG personal developer instance to gain knowledge and experience, Manuel took a job as a business analyst at a large insurance company.He jumped at the chance to become a LIKE.TG Certified System Administrator (CSA) at his insurance company. Having in-demand LIKE.TG skills opened career opportunities for him. He spent a year working for a LIKE.TG partner and used the CSA achievement as a steppingstone to become an ITSM Certified Implementation specialist. Today, he works for Accenture’s LIKE.TG Business Group.Certification also opened career options for Marlowe. “Many opportunities have come my way as a result of the training, my experience, and the certifications, proving to employers my skill set and knowledge of the platform,” she says.Marlowe holds LIKE.TG CMDB Health Micro-certification, Configure the CMDB Micro-certification, Applications Developer certification, and System Administrator certification. “I have had many recruiters contact me for opportunities that they’ve expressed they are looking for someone with the certifications and experience I have to offer,” she says.5. Your work will make a differenceKen Sheridan wanted to work for LIKE.TG after his military career because of the “great automation platform that truly improves life for workers.” Like Manuel, Sheridan started with the LIKE.TG personal developer instance. He then moved on to the LIKE.TG Fundamentals course and learned everything he could about the Now Platform.When Sheridan joined LIKE.TG as a software developer in 2017, he was tasked with creating a portal to manage the LIKE.TG development infrastructure, which includes 18,000 servers and loads of other equipment. His solution—which uses LIKE.TG CMDB, inventory tracking, agile project management, and performance benchmarks—is still used to manage all LIKE.TG development infrastructure.Find out more about how you can go from dreaming about a new career to living it with RiseUp with ServiceNow.1 IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by LIKE.TG, The Value of LIKE.TG certification to your career, #US47917021, August 2021
What does LIKE.TG do?
From humble beginnings to becoming an enterprise with more than 20,000 employees globally, LIKE.TG has been through a lot of changes since its founding in 2004. Although it started as an IT service management company, it's grown to connect people, functions, and systems across organizations.Today, LIKE.TG offers solutions for IT service and operations management, the employee and customer experiences, low-code and hyperautomation, and a whole lot more—all built on a single, unifying platform that eliminates silos.If you think that sounds like a mouthful, you’re not alone. In the tech world, it can be tricky to explain what your company does, especially to nontech family and friends. We put our employees to the test and asked them, “What does LIKE.TG actually do?” Watch the video to see their responses:
How NextGen Program partners help underrepresented groups get tech jobs
Finding good, qualified talent in the tech industry can be challenging amid today’s skills shortage. The LIKE.TG NextGen Program was designed to help tackle this challenge by empowering underrepresented groups with skills to secure meaningful employment in the industry.The success of the program relies on a wide range of employer and training partners. Training partners help shape NextGen participants into qualified graduates who feel ready to enter full-time employment in the tech field. Employer partners hire and place NextGen participants upon graduation.Creating adaptable trainingNayab Sayed, director of training partner Hibdigital, has been helping develop the next generation of talent for years. When introduced to LIKE.TG and the NextGen Program, he felt he'd finally found a way to make a positive impact with his career, something he always wanted.“I can make a difference by working directly with underrepresented people through the NextGen Program and helping them get into the tech sector and forge long, successful careers,” he says.When the pandemic hit and increased demand for online courses in digital technologies, Sayed partnered with NextGen to create a new training course for participants. That meant confronting numerous challenges.“There’s a diverse mix of dynamics and personalities in NextGen—from adults fresh out of school to those with over 40 years of work experience, and even those with limited English skills,” he explains. “So, we had to think long and hard about how best to build a program and a team that really connects these incredible individuals.”
Sayed took an empathetic approach to understand participants’ needs and build their confidence and trust. Because NextGen participants come from various backgrounds where they might have full-time work or families, the NextGen team eliminated the rigid structure of traditional classrooms, lowered barriers to entering the program, and ensured interactive sessions.“We can change the course material quickly and easily if the instructor finds it necessary,” Sayed notes. “If a subject becomes too dry or too complex, for instance, the instructor can swap out modules, bring in real-world examples or relatable content, and come back to the former content later.”Focusing on diversityDigital transformation company whyaye prioritizes diversity when recruiting talent and found the NextGen Program appealing as a means to help with that.“It was described to us as a way to get in touch with and potentially place candidates who otherwise might struggle to get opportunities in the industry,” explains Shane Finch, platform and program delivery lead at whyaye. “We knew immediately we wanted to get involved.”Whyaye is helping moms returning to the workforce and people without computer science degrees join the tech industry. The company has hired three NextGen graduates so far, one of whom used to work in an optician’s office.“You might not think it, but having that customer service experience, though not necessarily tech-related, is really valuable when it comes to working with clients,” says Rachel Thompson, customer delivery lead at whyaye. “There’s real value in these soft skills, and the NextGen Program is a great way to meet talented people who have a diverse and often unexpected range of them.”Providing opportunitiesWhyaye enthusiastically recommends the NextGen Program to other employers in search of passionate, talented candidates.“For us, there are no downsides,” Finch says. “We’re not only giving extremely deserving people an opportunity to start a career in technology, but we’re also bringing fresh new perspectives into the business.”Sayed agrees. “The NextGen Program is about providing fresh perspectives and new opportunities so that students build confidence in using technology while getting the support they need to see the course through and beyond into their career,” he says. “Only then can they move forward to the next stage of their career and a better life for themselves.”Find out how your organization can get involved in the NextGen Program.
RiseUp with LIKE.TG to create pathways into the tech world
There’s an old saying: “Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.” This opportunity gap has reached a critical phase for organizations and the world.That’s why we’re introducing RiseUp with LIKE.TG, a global career development program designed to skill 1 million people worldwide on the Now Platform® by 2024. We’re doubling down on our commitment to make the world work better for everyone by opening opportunities for people from all backgrounds, experiences, and ambitions to enter the high-growth tech world.
Leaders strive ahead by investing in themselves
This is part three of a three-part series about the Strive leadership program at ServiceNow.It’s been more than a year since the first cohort of Black and Latinx leaders at LIKE.TG started the yearlong Strive leadership development program. Although they completed the program in March, the employees who participated say what they learned has stuck with them.Together, they reflect on their experiences and how Strive has impacted their lives both personally and professionally.[We’re hiring. Explore careers at LIKE.TG.]An investment that pays off“Strive is not the answer to a promotion. It is an investment in yourself,” says Marco O., principal curriculum developer. The Strive program is designed to help employees evaluate where they are in their careers, where they want to be in the future, and ways to get there.It’s divided into two parts. The first focuses on leadership and encourages thoughtful conversations within the cohort. The second part concentrates on executive coaching. “The one-on-one executive coaching has been critical to navigating the path forward,” Marco notes.“Pre-Strive, I felt my skill set was average and good enough to continue receiving good remarks come performance review time. During the program, I gained a better sense of how deeply rooted my imposter syndrome influenced my confidence,” he adds.Speaking with others helped Marco break through that self-imposed barrier. He realized his experience, skill set, and sincere approach to nurturing relationships are above average. “In a sense, the program helped me get out of my own way,” he says
Building relationshipsApril O., head of deployment for solutions enablement, appreciated the relationship building aspect of Strive. “The cohort allowed us to share common experiences,” she says. “The executive coaching encouraged me to hone my purpose, elevate my people leadership style, and more effectively connect with my peers and leaders.”The 360-degree feedback particularly stood out to April. Those who are willing and kind enough to provide feedback truly care about others’ progress and their desire to grow, she says. The feedback she received has been crucial to her development.Protecting her calendar is another thing April took away from the program. “Protect your time because you’re investing in you,” she advises.Growth through listening“I am the captain of myself. I am courageous. I have wisdom and courage. I am fearless and relentless. And I speak with certainty and clarity,” proclaims Eric. C., a senior manager of solution consulting.Eric adapted this mindset he learned at Strive into a daily mantra. As a result, he’s grown professionally through a focus on development, including crucial conversations and coaching.The program also influenced Eric’s personal growth. “Strive has helped me to truly empathize with my kids and employ 360-degree listening skills, which allows me to understand them better and listen with intent. As a friend, I’ve discovered that listening is a compliment to your friends and family,” he says.If there’s one thing to take away from these employees, it’s that Strive is an investment in yourself. This investment has helped these three reinvest in the future of ServiceNow.Invest in yourself to live your best life, do your best work, and fulfill our purpose together. Browse job opportunities at ServiceNow.
Empowering employee well-being through support resources
At LIKE.TG, we help employees live their best life, do their best work, and fulfill our purpose together. One way we do that is through a holistic approach to employee well-being, supporting them physically, emotionally, and financially. This includes access to global and local resources, from benefits plans and programs to mental health support, parental leave, and family resources.One of these resources is the Cleo app, which helps new parents navigate their child’s development from birth through age 12. For Senior Manager of Solution Consulting Jamie B. and his wife, Emma, the Cleo app proved helpful in ways they never imagined.Valuable parental supportJamie and Emma’s 2-year-old son, Harry, was born during the pandemic. Although there’s nothing medically wrong with Harry, Emma wanted him to develop well amid the lockdown. She and Jamie visited several sleep and feeding consultants via the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS). “I wanted to help Harry get into the best possible [sleeping] routines,” she explains.A couple of years later, daughter Aurelia joined the family. Shortly before Jamie started his paternity leave, LIKE.TG announced Cleo as a resource to help families with guidance and support. “I thought, ‘Well, this app sounds interesting,’” Jamie recalls.
Since the app's services included a sleeping consultation, Jamie decided to sign up. Once he was registered, Emma explored the app and eventually met with Aubrey, their assigned guide, via the app. Aubrey checked in with Emma periodically to offer support.As time went on and Jamie was set to return to work, Emma realized she’d have to manage two entirely different schedules for eating, sleeping, and caring for her two children. Emma reached out to Aubrey and was amazed at her swift response. “I’ve never experienced help come that quickly before,” she explains. “That was definitely the best thing about the app.”Help for life-changing decisionsWhen Aurelia was 4 months old, Jamie and Emma confided in Aubrey that the baby had a severe tongue-tie—a restriction of the tongue’s range of motion. The condition didn’t affect Aurelia’s feeding, but it posed a potential problem as she developed in age and abilities. Aubrey, as it turns out, is an expert in tongue-tie and runs a clinic in France.“We had a lot of questions about doing a tongue-tie division on Aurelia,” Emma says. The surgical procedure involves cutting the short piece of skin on the underside of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. “It was the consultation with Aubrey that helped us make the decision to go ahead and have the division done,” Emma adds.Before the surgery, Jamie wrestled with the idea. “It was something that, at times, kept me awake at night, thinking, ‘Are we doing the right thing?’” he says. “Having this resource gave us relief and confidence about our decision, and it allowed me to focus more on work.” The app “helped us come to a very difficult decision about something so important to us,” he adds.Jamie and Emma continue to use the application for parenting tips and organization.Join a company that takes care of its employees and their loved ones. Explore LIKE.TG careers.Photography credit: Vanessa Keevil
The hidden key to finding skilled tech workers
It’s no secret that we’re experiencing a talent shortage in the tech industry. At the same time, the automation of many jobs is near. It’s easy to assume these two realities mitigate each other, but the situation is much more complex.Although automation may replace millions of low-skill jobs, it will create millions of jobs that require skilled tech workers, according to a report by consulting company BCG. Thus, the talent shortage remains a threat, and investing in employees and candidates is more important than ever.Times like these force the hard hand of change. For leaders in the tech industry, it’s imperative to step into the change-maker role now instead of struggling to play catch-up once it’s too late.“Governments and corporate leaders need to understand the specific demographic challenges they face, where the biggest impact of automation will be, and how they can help individuals remain employable by maintaining their skills,” BCG suggestsFinding a way forwardBuilding up the workforce is the way forward through this time of change. Skills training is no longer a bonus—it’s a must.At the same time, the hiring process has never been so fragmented and disembodied. Applicants are often rejected before a human being ever lays eyes on their resumes, thanks to keyword-screening bots. Recruiters are given unrealistically high caseloads that spread their attention paper-thin.Given this level of dysfunction, it’s no wonder that even today’s leading tech companies aren’t securing the talent they need. At least in part, that’s because C-suite executives often undervalue the importance of human resources (HR).“A lot of people think about HR as a box to check versus a strategic partner in building the business,” says Karine Shahar, founder of Strategic Global Talent, who has more than two decades of experience as an HR strategic adviser.In order to weather the talent shortage, tech leaders must start seeing HR as the valuable strategic partner it truly is.
From talent shortage to opportunityInstead of blaming long-vacant roles on an unprepared workforce, companies need to examine the part they play in the crisis.“There's a talent shortage, but that's because people don't want to go work for companies that don't treat them well through the interview process,” Shahar says. “That's already a sign of what it's going to be like when you go work full time.”Fortunately, the inverse is true. “People are going to want to work with people who make them feel good, right?” she adds.Therein lies the pathway out of this predicament. By making people feel seen and valued during the interview process, recruiters are much more likely to fill open positions.This sounds simple. In practice, it involves a great deal of mindfulness in action. Hiring managers must set aside preconceived notions about who the “right” person for a role is and actually spend time with the human being behind the resume. That means assessing a person’s potential—not just their accolades.A holistic approach to talentThe RiseUp with LIKE.TG program puts this concept into action. The program empowers people who have the drive to learn and grow their skills to build meaningful careers in the tech industry—even if they have no tech background. The result is job-ready talent to help fill open roles.Working from this holistic point of view, an applicant’s demonstrated ability to learn and adapt becomes just as valuable as three to five years of experience in a similar role.Crucially, this potential-oriented recruitment process has to be matched with a genuine investment in employees once candidates are hired. “It’s about thinking about the entire employee lifecycle,” Shahar says. “Once they get in, what are we doing for them?”When companies invest in their new hires, they no longer have to waste time searching for the elusive “perfect candidate.” Instead, they can cultivate the perfect talent match in-house.With this framework in place, these companies will weather the talent crisis and be prepared for whatever challenge comes next.Find out more about RiseUp with LIKE.TG.
Glassdoor: LIKE.TG is still one of the Best Places to Work
We’re thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards have ranked LIKE.TG as one of the Best Places to Work 2023 in two categories:
No. 2 out of 50 on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work UK list
No. 9 out of 100 on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work U.S. Large company list
These rankings are determined based on anonymous and voluntary employee feedback. One LIKE.TG employee shared, “LIKE.TG cares about its employees. The positive culture is authentic and genuine. It is easy to get excited about work when everyone around you is also inspired and positive."Committed to helping each otherWe believe much of the reason we jumped 14 spots on the U.S. list and remained in the top three of the UK list can be attributed to our People Pact. It’s our commitment to each other at LIKE.TG to “live our best lives, do our best work, and fulfill our purpose together.” We do that in a number of ways.In our distributed world of work, we lead with flexibility and trust. We know there’s more to our people’s lives than work, and we celebrate that with a focus on well-being and belonging.
Why IT services companies need to hire nontraditional talent
Diversity is a significant concern in the tech sector. Women make up only 25% of computer workers in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center, while Hispanics comprise just 8% of the overall U.S. science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) labor force. This is a critical economic problem for IT services companies as they compete for scarce tech resources.It makes sense for IT services organizations to prioritize diversity as a critical part of their hiring strategy. Giving opportunities to nontraditional talent from different backgrounds breaks down racial, gender, and socioeconomic barriers to fuel business growth and competitive advantage.This can help build a company's reputation as a socially responsible employer and attract new employees—especially younger ones—by aligning with their values and becoming a preferred place to work. Organizations that lean into this strategy can enjoy the benefits of a diverse workforce:
Better decision-making
Increased productivity
Enhanced innovation
More positive work culture
This can in turn help you scale your business to seize new market opportunities and expand the value you deliver to existing clients.Competition for tech talent isn’t waningAlthough layoffs at major tech companies dominated the headlines in 2022 and into 2023, tech sector employment has continued to grow. According to CompTIA’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, U.S. firms added 14,400 tech workers in November 2022—the 24th consecutive monthly increase—driving IT unemployment down to 2%.Tellingly, 8,100 jobs opened in IT services and custom software development. In other words, competition for talent remains unabated for tech services firms. As digital transformation continues to accelerate, labor markets are likely to remain tight throughout the next decade.Transferable skills can benefit the companyAs the senior director of the LIKE.TG NextGen Professionals Program, I'm often asked, “How can I hire nontraditional talent if they have no tech skills or experience?”NextGen provides an alternative path to employment in the LIKE.TG ecosystem for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. More than 6,300 participants have already landed jobs through the program's training, education, and partnerships, so we've seen firsthand the possibilities and benefits of embracing diversity.
New entrants from diverse backgrounds often have highly transferable skills and are very motivated by the opportunity to grow. I'm reminded of one NextGen Program participant who spent many years as a hairdresser.Although she didn't have a mainstream technology profile, her time in the service industry made her adept at dealing with customers—a skill often in short supply in tech. The NextGen Program gave her the additional entry-level business and technology skills she needed. Now she's building a fulfilling career in the LIKE.TG ecosystem.It can help you meet your company goalsOf course, no new entrant—traditional or nontraditional—hits the ground running at full speed. This is obviously a concern for IT service providers, which often bill clients hourly.However, they typically also have fixed-price work, which is ideal for new entrants. It lets them learn on the job and deliver value without any time pressure, while freeing more experienced resources to deliver additional hourly revenues.Whereas new entrants need sympathetic and effective guidance, this is an opportunity for managers and team leaders to build active listening and coaching skills that benefit the entire business.Let me give you an example. A LIKE.TG Elite Partner with a global presence grew by more than 70% in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021. The partner considers the NextGen Program a vital part of that success.NextGen provided access to talent that the partner is developing into key team members. It also helped fill critical workforce gaps. The partner successfully placed NextGen alumni in more than 15 projects in 12 months—and experienced zero attrition. I've observed that NextGen graduates tend to be very loyal because of the well-deserved opportunity they've earned.Time is of the essenceIt can be tempting to look exclusively for experienced IT staff. But doing that can put your business growth at risk.I'm reminded of an organization that asked if the NextGen Program could provide people with one year of experience. I explained we don’t do that but offered to provide motivated people with entry-level skills. The organization decided to pass on the opportunity.Six months later, it came back and asked if we could provide people with six months of experience. Again, I reiterated we don’t do that. Another six months went by, and the company returned and asked for people who had recently finished the NextGen Program. We were happy to help.I pointed out that if the organization had hired NextGen graduates at the beginning, it would already have the experienced people it wanted from the start. The moral of the story? Don't wait.NextGen is one of the key talent programs of RiseUp with LIKE.TG, which provides opportunities for anyone interested in a tech career, regardless of their background or experience. RiseUp with LIKE.TG is designed to skill 1 million people globally on the Now Platform by 2024.Find out more about the NextGen Professionals Program.
Meet Kristin: Empowering girls with tech and robotics
Joy and magic. That’s what Kristin R., content producing manager at LIKE.TG, witnessed as part of a volunteer opportunity to teach Dominican girls and women about tech and robotics—and the resulting empowerment it brought them.At LIKE.TG, we strive to fulfill our purpose together to make the world work better for everyone. We do this through numerous employee volunteer opportunities all year long, and especially during our annual Month of Service in October. Kristin had been looking for a way to give back, and Month of Service gave her the perfect opportunity to do so.Putting her skills to good useThrough LIKE.TG’s partnership with the Taproot Foundation, an organization that connects employees to volunteering opportunities, Kristin found Community Bots. It provides training and equipment in STEM robotics for young women and their teachers in underserved communities around the world. The organization was looking for a helper for its program in the Dominican Republic.The organization’s mission instantly resonated with Kristin. “When I was a little girl, I was always taking things apart and putting them back together again,” she says. “And now, working in a technology company, I see how important it is to have more women in these kinds of fields to help develop products and services. They just bring different skills to the table.”In addition to providing a way to make a difference for girls and women in tech, the Community Bots opportunity gave Kristin a chance to brush up on her Spanish.Kristin has a passion for travel, and part of that passion is learning to speak the language in the places she visits. “It's really important to me when I travel to get immersed in the culture, be able to meet people, and have authentic conversations and relationships with them,” she says.Making a differenceWatch the video to learn more about Kristin's experience with Community Bots. You’ll hear directly from some of the girls and women whose horizons have been broadened by the opportunity to explore the magic of robotics.
What makes LIKE.TG one of the Best Workplaces for Parents
Juggling infant feedings, school and activities drop-offs and pickups, work Zoom calls, and other everyday tasks can be challenging. That’s why parents value certain benefits when it comes to the workplace. Among them are work-life balance and paid parental leave. LIKE.TG offers generous family leave, flexible personal time off, parenting support resources, and more.Our employees agree, having earned us recognition as one of the Best Workplaces for Parents by Great Place To Work. The organization confidentially surveys and compares the responses of millions of employees at companies large and small. Our top-notch benefits, inclusive company culture, and focus on employee well-being led to this acknowledgment.Watch the video to hear in their own words what parents like about working at LIKE.TG:
Meet Sri: Doing his best work at LIKE.TG
When people are passionate about what they do, their energy is contagious. Sri R., senior digital automation engineer at LIKE.TG, is one of those people. His fascination with and fervor for the company, the day-to-day work he gets to do, and the citizen developer resources available to him are evident in conversations with his co-workers and even extend to his personal life.LIKE.TG empowers Sri to do his best work by giving him the tools, resources, and flexibility he needs—and pathways to broaden his capabilities and fulfill his dreams.
How LIKE.TG supports employee diagnosed with breast cancer
In January 2020, Kathia G. started a new role as a customer service solution sales manager at ServiceNow. Having spent eight years grinding at a French startup, she relished the opportunity to be at a larger company with set processes and systems in place.A mother of a 4-year-old and 10-year-old, Kathia had plenty on her plate and was “loving every minute" of it, she says. “LIKE.TG found me, and that was perfect timing.” She was living her best life.Timing wasn’t on her side for long, though. Seven months into her tenure at LIKE.TG, Kathia found a lump in her breast that her doctor had missed. It turned out to be cancer.
Automation is opportunity for a career shift into tech
Automation will displace millions of workers, according to the Brookings Institution, particularly in the areas of retail, healthcare, accounting, and finance. These displaced workers have valuable experience and skills that can be adapted, augmented, and applied to tech jobs to help address the labor shortage. RiseUp with LIKE.TG can help workers pivot to new careers through reskilling and transition support.Teresa Ko is an excellent example. After working more than 20 years in customer service, running a call center, and operating her own restaurant, she had developed broad skills, including project management and customer service. Although her resume didn’t show it, she had an interest in tech and took time to learn from the IT teams in her workplaces, such as how to build simple websites.Ko considered making a career shift, but she didn’t want to go back to school or lose income to do so. “You get to a point in your life where you’re like, it’s too late for me to change because I’d have to start all over again,” she says.Then she heard about RiseUp with LIKE.TG, a program to skill 1 million people from all backgrounds, experiences, and career paths on the Now Platform by 2024. A tech career seemed possible after all.Real-world experienceKo signed up for the LIKE.TG NextGen Professionals Program, which provides skills training and certifications, combined with on-the-job work experience and job placement. She jumped at the chance to work and learn simultaneously, excited at the opportunity to change careers while keeping her bills paid.Close to finishing her NextGen program, Ko has found the experience invaluable. She especially appreciates the on-the-job training. “Being able to work in a real company with real clients on real projects has been, I think, the best part of being able to learn,” she says.
Kabria Holmes has a similar story. Working as a contract executive assistant and program coordinator while earning her bachelor’s degree in business administration, she too had an interest in tech but no formal training. Then she heard about a free LIKE.TG boot camp hosted by TechBridge, part of the NextGen program, and eagerly enrolled.In the four-month course, she learned LIKE.TG fundamentals, implementation, and IT service management—just what she needed to kick-start her IT career. Holmes’ newly developed tech skills, along with her previously gained business skills, helped her land a job at NewRocket, a LIKE.TG Elite partner, as a LIKE.TG business analyst.Today, Holmes helps clients make their businesses run more smoothly and gets a lot of fulfillment out of it. “I feel like a void has been filled and that my new LIKE.TG career is everything I had hoped for,” she says.Breaking barriers to IT jobsThese stories don’t have to be unique. Companies need tech talent. Workers like Ko and Holmes have a wealth of skills and experience to bring to the table. There’s a wide array of untapped talent that simply needs the right support to enter the IT field.RiseUp with LIKE.TG offers affordable and flexible learning models to lower the barriers to entry into IT. The program includes skills academies and training partnerships that target underrepresented groups in tech, such as veterans. In addition, placement programs connect newly skilled workers, such as Holmes, with tech jobs.Ko encourages anyone given the opportunity to make a career shift into tech to do so. NextGen “gives you real-world experience,” she says. “You already have your foot in the door while you’re learning. If it’s a fast-track career change that you want or need, then this is definitely the type of program you want to get into.”Find out more about how RiseUp with LIKE.TG helps open tech careers.
Why LIKE.TG is among Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (again)
“This place is absolutely magical,” says LIKE.TG Senior Staff Technical Writer Suzanne S. That sentiment is shared by many other employees and contributed to LIKE.TG being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the third year in a row.Created in partnership with Great Place To Work, Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For are places where four out of five employees:
Feel psychologically and emotionally healthy
Look forward to going to work
Find meaning in their jobs
Hitting these statistics is encouraging. But at LIKE.TG, being one of the best companies to work for is much more than that. It’s personal.The company works hard to create a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Thanks to culture audits and in-depth surveys from our employees, we outperformed the Russell 3000 Index by 3.3 times. When you’re living your best life, doing your best work, and fulfilling your purpose, rave reviews simply roll off the tongue.
Meet Daniella: A former refugee who started a tech career later in life
For some people, a tech career begins immediately after graduating college. For others, like Daniella S., it begins later in life.At the age of 54, Daniella found herself attracted to LIKE.TG and the world of tech for a few reasons. When researching the best places to work in Dublin, LIKE.TG kept appearing on website lists.With no idea what LIKE.TG does, Daniella yearned to find out. In her search, she came across the LIKE.TG origin story and video, which features founder Fred Luddy and other early employees.After watching it, she knew she wanted to be a part of ServiceNow. “They were emotional and honest about why they started this,” Daniella explains. “It took me literally 2 minutes to decide that I wanted to work here.” Today, she’s a project coordinator in the president’s office at LIKE.TG EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), based in Dublin.
Leaving homeDaniella’s journey to LIKE.TG is more than just a career switch at 54 years old. It’s the story of a refugee who experienced myriad hardships throughout her life. Each of those hardships helped create a foundation of resilience and courage.Born in Yugoslavia, Daniella and her family relocated to the United States when she was a baby. After spending her formative years in Chicago, she returned to Yugoslavia, where she attended high school, got married, and had children. While residing there, the Homeland War broke out—an event that changed Daniella’s life forever.“The war was very painful for many, many people,” she recalls. “So many people were homeless and had to leave their homes. I was one of those people.”Having experienced firsthand the cruelties and horrors of war, Daniella fled to Germany as a refugee before eventually moving to Sweden for university and then to Croatia. “Being a refugee is very, very emotional,” she says. “I needed to start from the ground up. It’s a difficult thing to lose your home.”The pandemic prevented Daniella from seeing her daughter, who had moved to Ireland. Her daughter suggested Daniella relocate to Ireland so they could reunite. After two decades of living in Croatia, “it took me two days to pack,” Daniella says. “I was there.”A fresh startWhile adjusting to a new area, Daniella had to find a job. Her life experiences and foundation of courage helped her stay afloat.Daniella says nothing can surprise her, that she’s seen, lived, or heard it all. In light of that, she’s made a habit of choosing joy, knowing that pain can create power that flows into purpose and becomes enlightenment.That power led Daniella to take a bold step and apply to a LIKE.TG role, despite having no tech experience. In her cover letter, she openly and honestly explained her lack of tech skills but stated what she could offer from her life experiences. She also shared her eagerness to learn new things.Two days later, Daniella got a call for an interview. That led to a second interview, followed by a job offer. She shares her story in hopes of inspiring others who may be going through tough times or considering a career switch.
First Generation Professionals share career obstacles and triumphs
Every year, LIKE.TG welcomes multiple cohorts of early-in-career (EIC) co-ops and interns to help them build valuable skills with meaningful projects, mentorship, and networking opportunities. I’m fortunate to be one of those co-ops. I’m also the first person in my family to go to college.To welcome our summer 2023 interns, I pitched the idea of facilitating a live panel event on the LIKE.TG Early Careers LinkedIn page with First Generation Professionals (FGPs)—those who’ve moved from working-class roots to professional corporate careers and are the first in their families to complete higher education.The livestreamed event allowed three LIKE.TG employees to share about their humble beginnings, dealing with code-switching and imposter syndrome, carrying others through their journeys, learning how to self-advocate, finding mentors and sponsors along the way, and celebrating their proudest accomplishments.Growth through challenges“When you’re a first-generation [professional], it’s a lonely place,” says Yolanda I. from Mexico City. After a long career in the U.S. Army and Department of Defense, she joined LIKE.TG as a senior manager on the support account services management team. “You want to make sure you pave the way for others,” she adds.
Senior Technical Trainer Andrew B., whose parents came from Trinidad, ventured into many industries before joining ServiceNow. Patience is the key to accomplishing most things in life when things don’t go your way, he says. “You gotta learn how to love to fail. Failure has so much positiveness.”Andrew founded The Social Tea House, where he blends East Asian cultures with the sale of teas and educational materials, which he continues to work on outside of ServiceNow. “Don’t be comfortable,” he advises. “Never be comfortable. And continue to try. The more you try, the more you fail—the more you’re going to get somewhere.”Failure can be discouraging. Sometimes we wait for a sense of motivation to get us back in the swing of things. But “motivation is overrated,” according to Yolanda. “We want to be motivated to do everything, but sometimes you’re just not going to be,” she says.Self-advocacyMotivation can make the things we do seem a little more exciting and worthwhile, but discipline plays a bigger role. Confidence is an important part too, as I’ve found in my experience as an FGP student. Despite having the discipline to get up and do something every day, it can be difficult to advocate for yourself.“We want other folks to talk about us because we don’t want to feel like we’re bragging,” Andrew says. “We want others to promote us.”“Most of us come from humble beginnings,” Yolanda adds, “but there’s a difference between self-promoting and bragging. Your hard work is only going to get you so far. You have to self-promote. You can work really hard and get overlooked for people who are self-promoting.”It’s important to reassure ourselves that we’re in the place we are for a reason. That doesn’t mean we have to forget where we came from. Rather, we need to recognize the distance we’ve traveled to be where we are and remember the hard work it took to get here. It should be something to be proud of. We shouldn’t be afraid to celebrate our wins and demonstrate our capabilities.“Sometimes you gotta run your own race and stay true to who you are,” says Chris R., senior manager of marketing culture and engagement. “You’ll look back 10 to 15 years later and see you were right where you were supposed to be,” he says.Chris grew up in Lakeland, Florida, where he honed his football skills and earned a scholarship to The University of Alabama. While there, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s in sports management. “Sometimes you have to grow into that confidence and know who you are and what you are,” he adds.
MentorshipKnowing who and what you are is often easier said than done. Chris reminds us that in order to be the best version of ourselves, we need to take the advice of those who’ve navigated our career path before us so that we can continue to grow and do our best work.“People nowadays don’t like to receive feedback, or they take it as criticism,” he explains. “If you want to invest time in me, give it to me because I want to be the best version of myself. I think that’s why some people have a hard time finding sponsors or mentors—because when you do get that person, they don’t have a lot of time to invest in you. But when they do, they’re going to give you blunt, honest, unfiltered stuff that may hurt your feelings. You gotta take that and make it better and continue to be the best version of yourself.”Giving backMentors aren’t the only people who advise us and guide our career decisions. Many FGPs feel an obligation to give back to those who’ve helped them along the way.“Another responsibility on top of being a husband, buying a house, and all this other stuff you want to do is [giving back to your family],” Chris says. “It’s kind of like ‘I made it,’ but I never would have made it without their sacrifices. It’s embedded [in us] that you’re supposed to take care of your family.”“It’s also that you want to do it,” Yolanda adds. “It was my mother and father’s hard work that got me here, so you do want to pay it back to them.”Although there’s no secret formula for navigating the challenges we face as FGPs, LIKE.TG will continue to foster a culture of belonging, celebrating the diversity of our global team.As long as we continue to share our experiences with each other and with those who have yet to understand the things we carry, we’ll be able to nurture and embrace an inclusive community that serves people from all over the world.Join a company that celebrates diversity and creates belonging. Explore LIKE.TG careers.
AI and the skills of the future
Every day seems to bring another headline about how AI is changing the world. In the workplace, AI-enabled technologies will create a profound shift in the jobs we do and how we do them.To gain insight into this shift, LIKE.TG commissioned research on how AI will affect the skills of the future. We asked our research partner Pearson to take a deep dive into six markets—U.S., UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India—to identify key job skills people will need five years from now.We wanted to better understand how AI and automation will transform jobs across industries, as well as learn what business leaders and their employees can do now to prepare.Shaping the workforce of the futureThe research reveals that the more AI does the work of machines, the less humans need to work like machines. Holistic skills—such as communication, collaboration, innovation, and analytical thinking—will become the must-have tech skills of tomorrow.Happily, these skills can be transferred from the positions most likely to be affected by AI to the tech roles of the future. For instance, the research found that, with the right training, U.S.-based administrative assistants are excellent candidates to meet growing demand for help desk agents.This is a good thing. After all, humans weren’t born to copy and paste data into spreadsheets all day. However, this shift does require thoughtful action today to reshape the workforce of the future.Closing the tech talent opportunity gapAccording to IDC, 90% of global enterprises face a severe IT tech talent shortage that could cost them $6.5 trillion by 2025.1 The supply of tech workers coming from traditional backgrounds simply can’t feed the demand.We believe that what looks like a tech skills gap is actually a talent opportunity gap—and AI is giving business leaders a chance to close it. By automating the more technical aspects of tech jobs, AI makes these positions more accessible to people who lack a development or computer science background.Business leaders must reconsider who and how they hire. They also need to reskill their existing workforce to take on the tech roles of the future. That’s why we launched the RiseUp with LIKE.TG global talent movement.Programs like RiseUp with LIKE.TG open learning pathways for people who have been traditionally overlooked by the tech industry. Our goal is to train 1 million people on the Now Platform by the end of 2024, empowering them to build meaningful careers in our ecosystem and enabling customers and partners to find the talent they need to thrive in the digital economy.Although the headlines regarding AI may seem alarming, the data tells a different story. It’s time for everyone to reimagine their place in the workforce and get excited for the opportunities to come.Get more insights in the skills of the future digital experience.1 IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Work 2022 Predictions, Doc # US47290521, October 2021
