Jack Magiera, Lucinda Krahl and I created a PDF document to serve as a guide for the job interview process. To view the document, click on the following link: http://lkrahl.blogspot.com/2016/02/project-02-job-interview-guide.html
We divided up the guide into the following sections: when to start preparing for interviews, how to prepare for an interview, interview resources, extracurricular activities, networking, and other tips. Although each of these sections holds its own significance, several of these topics I wish I had had more knowledge of prior to the interview process. Namely, I found that the best advice and guidance I received was actually in regard to the last section, “Other Tips.” Especially when it comes to senior year, it’s easy to become stressed and caught up in comparing yourself with your peers. As your friends receive and accept offers to jobs, it’s a temptation to feel insecure and to feel that you’re behind in the process. Stress makes the entire process more difficult and overwhelming when it doesn’t need to be. Don’t compare, and trust that something will pan out for you.
Another category of advice that was extremely helpful for me was about networking; it’s incredible how even distant connections with someone can open doors to amazing opportunities. In this respect, “networking” doesn’t have to be only at a career fair. It can happen naturally by being curious and initiating conversation with individuals who share your interests and have experience in the professional world.
Lastly, we focused on the idea of being genuine in interviews and in networking. This was expressed to me beforehand, but I kept that in the forefront of my mind throughout the entire process. It ended up landing me a job at GE for one of their competitive Leadership Programs that I never thought I would receive. In my interview, I talked openly about my service experiences and how important they had become to me. Although I didn’t have a technical internship on my resume, last summer I worked on some tech projects during my 8 weeks serving in Uganda. My dad hadn’t wanted me to pursue that experience because he felt it was more logical for me to do a technical internship at a company in the U.S. Instead, I chose to follow my heart. The interviewers asked me many, many questions about the experience and I was very open and honest about the challenges I faced. Four hours later, I received a phone call from one of the interviewers offering me the position. I was floored. It just went to show me that it’s more important to pursue your dreams than to cookie-cut your experience to put on a resume. Be genuine.
I will say that this year, I was very much surprised by how much time it took to prepare for technical interviews. The amount of time spent equated to at least another class of its own. I don’t believe that ND’s CSE program needs to revamp its entire curriculum; I think it supports its students academically already. Why would they require/teach classes with knowledge we would never use? I have found that we have a fairly solid foundation academically. Due to the sheer amount of time it takes to prepare for technical interviews, however, I think it becomes very difficult to balance this with a full course schedule in the fall semester. I think it would be beneficial, but not completely necessary, to offer a course for credit that focused in detail on the interview process and how to prepare well. This way, the overall curriculum doesn’t need to entirely change, but it still takes into account for students the number of hours spent preparing for interviews. I firmly believe that this would be a healthier and more logical approach to preparing students for the workforce.
Ethics & Professional Issues 