We took a few minutes the other day to speak with Chezkie Glatt, a recent ITC grad who has already made an impact on the Jerusalem startup scene. His company, Convergence Workforce, part of a larger family of Convergence Israeli startups, has a penchant for hiring ITC grads, picking up @Daniel Shemen and @Yehouda Ayreh Hecht in the past few months, aside for Chezkie himself. We discussed the company and the industry, as well as Chezkie’s ITC experiences, in the following short interview.
Hi Chezkie. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. Can you introduce us a little to Convergence Workforce? What exactly does your company do?
It’s a privilege to be having this conversation, thank you! And sure, I’d be happy to. Convergence Workforce is a full-service, hassle-free BPO for all outsourcing needs. We believe businesses run best when given the freedom to actually do what they actually do best, and our mission is to give clients that freedom. That’s why we provide high-quality, cost-effective, and customized, data-driven solutions to otherwise time-consuming processes bogging talent down.
Very cool. Can you describe the culture and style of Convergence for us?
Young and growing, we’ve more than doubled in size in the last 6 months alone. Our company culture is founded on building our employees up, giving them the support to grow in an exciting and driven workplace environment. When you love what you do and you love where you work, it’s hard not to thrive! Our management team is also known for being exceptionally communicable, actively seeking input and out-of-the-box creative thinking. Our employees get to experience what it feels like to make a real impact and feel valued on a day-to-day basis.
That sounds really awesome, wow! Let’s turn to your connection to Israel Tech Challenge now. You yourself are an ITC grad, right? Can you tell us a little about that experience?
Yes, and absolutely. I was part of the Summer 2021 Data Analytics cohort, participating in an amazing program spearheaded by @Molly Abramson, taught by the unforgettable @Ran Partush and guided by @Itay Shalom. This wasn’t my first introduction to the field of data — I graduated with honors from the Sy Syms School of Business with a degree in Business Intelligence, and am completing my MBA this summer with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence — but it was the first time I used many of the analytics tools taught over the course of the summer, and I loved it. Ran’s lectures were engaging and fun; they were intensive and rigorous, but nothing we couldn’t handle — certainly not when we had Itay as a mentor throughout, helping review and answering questions at any time of the day or night. And aside from running things behind the scenes, Molly offered key classes herself and with special guest lecturers to focus on critical soft skills and other vital areas relating to the eventual job search.
Seems like you really gained a lot from our program, which definitely makes the huge efforts we put in from our side feel well worth it. Happy to hear. In your current position, has your personal experience helped encourage you to consider other ITC graduates more highly as you look at applicants?
One hundred percent. As I look over resumes — we had over 45 applicants for the job we recently hired @Yehouda Aryeh Hecht to — anyone who applied and who attended ITC gets an almost automatic push onto the next round of the selection process as far as I’m concerned. If they finished a full session, then I know we’re dealing with someone whose dedication to the field and basic knowledge of the world of data is up to par. In the past year, we’ve brought 3 new ITC grads onboard to the company’s data team, and I think that speaks volumes about the strength of the program.
Incredible. Your praise is almost embarrassing. Last question for now: what one piece of advice would you give other ITC students and alumni about the job search?
Attitude is everything. Honestly. Yes, you need to know your SQL and your Python, you’ve got to have an eye for how to make appealing dashboards in Power BI or reports in Tableau, and that’s where ITC has hopefully helped you. But to distinguish yourself the most in this field, you need to show a potential employer that you are upbeat and positive; that you are a self-starter who knows how to scour YouTube and StackOverflow to find answers and whose creativity is only outmatched by sheer will to succeed. It’s a competitive field, but there is also a ton of opportunity. Having the right attitude will be the difference maker and can really jump start your career.
Thank you so much for the time, Chezkie. It’s really very much appreciated.
My pleasure. To all up and coming data analysts and data scientists out there, feel free to connect with me over LinkedIn; I’d love to be in touch, and see if there’s anything we can build together!
Chezkie Glatt is a recent Israel Tech Challenge graduate and is currently the Director of Data & Analytics at Convergence, as well as VP of Business Intelligence at ROGA Partners.