Alumni Spotlight: John FitzGibbon @ AutoTrader.com

Alumni Spotlight: John FitzGibbon @ AutoTrader.com

John FitzGibbon is currently the Product Engineering Manager in IT at AutoTrader.com. He says the NMI absolutely prepared him for entering the new media industry as a whole – it did so in two parts. He knew nothing of the inner-workings of the web or the new media industry, and the NMI set him up foundationally and tested what he had learned by applying it to real world customers with problems to solve. Second, he didn’t realize how important networking was.

His first job out of the NMI was with a company whose hiring manager was a graduate student who he had worked with. This was his first break that led him down the path to success. John says the biggest challenge in new media, “ and only if you have the stomach for it, is change”. “Change is all around. The moment you think you have a handle on it, think again. Mobile is the most recent impact to my current role – we are rapidly having to support new devices to meet the expectation of our customers who naturally expect the same service regardless of device. Staying up to date is best summed up by being hands on – reading a book is one thing, but practicing it in reality is another. I prefer to look at the problem at hand and then determine the best tools to fix it (be it process, software or people). It may sound reactive, but I think of it as balancing reactive and proactive. React to the things that need to change while proactively looking ahead to what may be coming down the pipe 6 months out.”

John now works with AutoTrader.com.

John has a number of recommendations for information young professionals should be aware of heading into the job market. Because of his developer background, he recommends the following: 1. Understand basic integrations that web sites have with social media – Facebook, Google +, etc. – a bit of research will show that although there are many platforms, only a few are successful currently
 2. Know the basics of SEO (search engine optimization). In the age of data over-saturation, it’s important to know how to get your company seen.
 3. Learn HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript, JSP and JSF – there is a widening gap between developers that understand the expansive front-end technologies and the ones that focus on the backend. A user interface engineer is a sought after role that is hard to fill. However, just knowing HTML 5, CSS and a little JavaScript can go a long way.
 4. Video on multiple devices and how it works and is integrated. Even if you don’t do this, understand that video is extremely important and read up on the basics.
 5. Read up on Android and iOS platforms – 99% of all devices will be using one or the other.

To get the most out of an experience with the NMI, John noted the following things to take advantage of while enrolled. Make sure to network and build new relationships. You never know that a person you are sitting next to now may get a job and can refer you to the company they work with. Also he implores students to listen to Dr. Shamp, director of the NMI. “The man has about a billion connections and stories to help you. The one piece of advice he always gave that has become a daily mantra for me – ‘start small, work big’. There is no problem that can’t be solved but you can’t solve the entire problem in one swoop – increment and before you know it you have something amazing to work with.”

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

Interview conducted by Jennifer Linke.