“Employers Appreciate What You Know – and Even What You Don’t Know – as Long as You Are Honest About Both”
Daniel Kindred, Refrigeration and HVAC Technician (heating, ventilation, air conditioning technician) graduate from IntelliTec College in Colorado Springs, believes in old-fashioned principles: hard work, honesty, and the power of a thank you note.
After a tough HVAC Tech job interview with Academy School District #20 in Colorado Springs, he took the time to send a personal note of thanks to each person on the panel interview. “They asked some tough questions; questions I didn’t have all the answers to. I answered truthfully if I didn’t know something, but I also promised to research the questions and send them the answers. I included that information in my thank you notes, and I think that must have impressed them,” stated Kindred, “because I got the job!”
Make Every Dollar Count at College
When Kindred was 26 years old and still working at an hourly job in the food industry, he realized one day he had reached his earning potential. He was bored and depressed and “wanted to make more money by entering a growing career in HVAC.
I’d gone as far as I could as cook, and when I discovered IntelliTec, I saw it as a way out of just working and existing in life,” said Kindred. He dedicated himself to classes in the morning followed by an eight-hour restaurant shift (plus weekend hours) at his job, and study time whenever he had a free moment. “It was a struggle, but my main goal was to learn as much as I could while enrolled,” he added.
Juggling school and work can be challenging, but he advises students to look at the final picture. “Determine what sacrifices have to be made in order to succeed,” he explained. He takes advice from mentors seriously, and recognizes their shared personal experiences are valuable nuggets of information. “One teacher said ‘you’re not here to learn everything, but to understand how to learn for the future.’ I feel lucky to have a some of the best teachers in the industry as well as my dad giving me great advice,” said Kindred.
Invest in a Career with Innovation and Extra Effort for Big a Pay-Off
It takes a desire to learn and a level of integrity to be successful in the HVAC industry, according to one of Kindred’s former teachers, Charles Ledford. “The true test of any tech is to be able to refer him to family and friends since he would be directly in their homes. I wouldn’t hesitate to do so, and as a previous HVAC business owner, I’d hire him in a second.”
IntelliTec Offers a Strong Support Network Before, During and After Completion of a Program
Kindred recognizes he brought focus, drive, and determination to his college experience, but he attributes his success to a lot of help and encouragement from teachers and staff at IntelliTec. “You learn so much in such a short period of time, and not all of it relates just to your program classes. I felt like people there helped me with my first day jitters, kept me from feeling overwhelmed by pacing the content, and if it hadn’t been for my resume writing class, I don’t think I’d have the job I do today,” he said.