Take It to the Bank

  By Elizabeth Lisican —

Waterfield’s IT team seeks experienced professionals — and also those just out of school. In fact, the company embraces interns.

“We’re specifically looking for internships as a way to bring in young talent still in school — if they’re not in a full-time undergraduate [program], then they’re maybe going to junior college or vocational school,” Marino said. “We’re very open and willing to realize that not everybody has the same opportunities.

As for infrastructure support roles, Marino wants experienced professionals. Otherwise, there’s lots of room for younger professionals.

“On the application development front, our programmers, guys who are building code, frankly, I really like the young guys,” he said. “I really like folks who are just out of school, have new fresh ideas. Stuff turns over so frequently that we love getting motivated energy infused into the company through young new hires.”

Once they settle into their roles, new hires can embark on a variety of career paths.

“I’ve got intern positions that fit into some of my buckets; for instance, I’ve got interns in my application development group,” Marino said. “Certainly, for those kinds of individuals, they can move into a career where they become leaders in their respective fields. I think that we try and leave the door open. In a small company, though, I think it’s always a tough question.”

Ultimately, though, it’s about becoming invested in the business at Waterfield, Marino said. In keeping with the company tagline, Waterfield emphasizes its strategic mission when training all IT hires.

“Our IT guys don’t just understand how to write code, but they understand how it applies to the business, and I think that’s probably one of the differentiators for us,” Marino said. “We like the motto, ‘We’re big enough to serve and small enough to care,’ and I think for us, it means that it really ties into all of our technical positions being able to contribute to the business.”

Elizabeth Lisican is a freelance writer based in Chicago. She can be reached at editor@certmag.com.