Getting Hired Chester County – AFS

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AFS LOGO_540 webVISTA Today asks Cindy Fetterman, Senior Corporate Recruiter at Automated Financial Systems headquartered in the Whiteland Business Park in Exton, to share what her company looks for in an applicant and a few tips on applying for an open position and getting hired in Chester County – AFS style.

VT: Lets start out with an overview of Automated Financial Systems. What does AFS do, Cindy?

CF: AFS is a privately held software company established in 1970 focused on developing applications used by banks around the world to track their commercial lending activity. We have both a mainframe and web-enabled platforms and employ about 400 people, most of which are in our Exton office. Our application is the only platform on the market that allows a bank to follow a commercial loan application through the entire approval process from beginning to end.

VT: What do your current employees like about AFS?

CF: Working at AFS is like being in a family. When existing employees see a new face, they make it a point to introduce themselves and help new employees feel like they are a part of something big.

We nurture that family atmosphere with carefree events such as a Cinco de Mayo event, summer BBQ, ice cream socials, and so on.   At least once a month we have a Jeans Day. On Jeans Day, employees can make a donation to wear jeans all day with the proceeds going to a charity. During the summer months we expand the Jeans Day a bit to allow both jeans and shorts every Friday.

As a result of our friendly environment, our average employee tenure is about 10 years.

DSCN0535VT: How do you find candidates?

CF: We are on the different job boards such as Dice, CareerBuilder and Monster. We also communicate with people on social media. Employee referrals are big as are people applying directly to a job they see on our own career page found on our website, www.afsvision.com.

VT: Do you ever use outside recruiters?

CF: Sometimes we will depending on the position, but generally speaking, we don’t.

VT: Which of the alternatives bring you the best candidates?

CF: Of all of the resources we use, employee referrals have the highest success rate. Every single employee referral is a happy story. With an employee referral, you have an employee who thinks highly enough of his/her AFS experience to invite a friend or family member to join. Whether it be someone with programming, project management, analysis, or other experience that is referred, if we hire an employee referral, its always a good news story.   When one of our employees refers someone to us and we’re able to bring the referred person on board, it’s a win-win-win.

VT: What type of positions does AFS generally have open?

CF: Senior Java Developers and Java Technical Leads are positions we often advertise.   Business analysts with banking experience is another position we often recruit as well.   QA Testers do not require the same banking experience or Java background and is another frequent job posting.

VT: What qualities do you look for in an applicant?

CF: We look for a strong work ethic, someone who can work independently but knows how to prosper in a collaborative environment as well.

afs_exteriorVT: Must a candidate have banking experience prior to applying at AFS?

CF: It depends on the role. With a business analyst and maybe our project managers, we want someone with a commercial banking background. With most AFS career postings, we are looking for someone with the specific task experience. For instance, on a JAVA Technical Lead position, we are looking for someone who is very strong in Java and XML, web services and open source framework.

VT: When someone sees a position at AFS that interests them, what is the best way to apply?

CF: We have two recruiters and together we look at every application that comes in. If an applicant sends us a LinkedIn message we respond. If an applicant applies through our web site, we respond. Likewise if they reach out through one of the job board sites. We are reviewing everything.   Applicants also have the option of sending us an email at opportunity@afsvision.com.

VT: Are there red flags that you look for that eliminate that person from consideration?

CF: It depends on the position and what the applicant is bringing to the table. Sometimes we get a resume from someone in construction looking for a role at AFS. We don’t have roles for applicants with a construction background at AFS.

Another example of when a person’s background and experience might not be the right fit is when we are looking for a senior business analyst and the applicant clearly does not have the experience to be considered for that role. In that situation, we will put their resume aside for a another position that might be a right fit that may come up down the road.

VT: So if someone sees a job on Monster or the AFS Career page they’re interested in, how should they apply?

CF: The best way to apply is to go onto our career page at www.afsvision.com, click on the role they’re interested in and complete a profile. Once this step is finished, the applicant is able to apply for the role and their application comes right to my desk.

VT: And if an applicant wants to follow-up and make sure his/her profile and application was received, what should he/she do?

CF: It is not possible to talk to every applicant. I would encourage the applicant to send an email to opportunity@afsvision and we will respond to the inquiry promptly.

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