Why Employers Choose Momentum: Words from a CTO

By The Momentum Team ● 09/07/2022

Why Employers Choose Momentum: Words from a CTO

By The Momentum Team ● 09/07/2022

At Momentum, we work with industry experts to prepare individuals for their journey into the tech field. Engineering and Product Development Executive Jamie Howard recently joined our students during one of our Friday Huddles, where he shared his expertise on the agile system.

Jamie has been an advisor and dear friend of Momentum since the beginning, and his knowledge has helped keep us on track to ensure our students are equipped with the right skills to meet the job market needs. Jamie has spoken to various Momentum cohorts and even took part in hiring a handful of graduates over the years. Currently, Jamie is the Vice President of Engineering at Allstacks and has experience working for brands like Red Hat, TransLoc, and QualComm.

Most of Jamie’s career has been in managing teams, focusing on environment, culture, and individual behaviors, a passion that started for him after his leadership career in the military. During his time of service, Jamie served as a Staff Sergeant, an Army National Guard, a fire team leader, and a squad leader. He spent time overseas in Iraq in 2004 and was awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal (for Valor), Army Achievement Medal, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Jamie’s military history is not only impressive but further proves his experience as a leader.

Takeaways from a CTO

In the video below, take an inside look into Jamie Howard’s discussion where he highlights the agile system and characteristics to keep in mind to remain adaptable as an individual and team member.

Video Summary

On the individual front, Jamie Howard looks for three key characteristics when recruiting: attitude, aptitude, and ability. For attitude, do you prioritize your team? Do you want to be on a team? How do you treat other people? For aptitude, are you really good at knowing what you don’t know? Are you hungry to learn? And finally, for ability, what have you learned given your attitude and aptitude? Do you have the humility to learn from other team members?

As a team member, Jamie argues that you should be aligned, empowered, and accountable. As such, team members should be aligned to one unified mission or goal, empowered to make an impact, and held accountable to themselves, each other, their company, and stakeholders. As an individual and team member, check all those boxes and you will be agile.

Jamie notes that above all, empathy, trust, and transparency are the hallmarks of a good engineer – aside from being a good programmer – and at the end of the day, agility is all about human behavior. These characteristics sought after by Jamie and other recruiters are staples of the Momentum curriculum, which is why he continues to choose Momentum. For him, working with Momentum graduates means working with well-equipped and prepared individuals with the needed hard and soft skills to succeed in the field. To learn more about our services and courses, reach out to our team at Momentum today.

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