Interview Like A Champion Today ®
The on campus career fair is early in September, so students should consider putting some time aside towards the end of the summer to update their resumes and brush up on some interview questions. It is important to get a head start so you don’t feel like you’re playing catch-up throughout the recruiting season.
If students are aiming to be hired in development roles, they should consider brushing up on some standard technical questions and practice coding on a whiteboard to familiarize themselves with the process. Students can work in pairs, alternating asking and solving questions, practicing verbally walking through their thought process as they write on the whiteboard. When whiteboard coding in an interview, companies typically care more about your internal reasoning on how you approach the problem than the final product you write, so verbalizing your thought process is key to show interviewers that you didn’t just memorize the answer but used your critical thinking skills. Brushing up on some common algorithms can also give you a leg up when it comes to the types of questions you may encounter in a technical interview. If students wish to enter the consulting world after graduation, they should practice case studies, as most consulting interviews include at least one case study question.
When preparing for interviews, students should consider reading Cracking the Coding Interview both for its technical questions, most of which may be asked in a real interview, and its insights into the recruiting process at different large companies. Part of acing the recruiting process is preparing for all aspects of it, including the non-technical areas. Mock Interviews held both in the Career Center and by CSE Seniors are also a great resource to practice common problems and interactions that occur in interviews and can help students feel more prepared in general. The Career Center also does resume reviews where a career counselor will look over your current resume for formatting and wording issues and help you project your best self on paper.
Joining a technical society or club is a great way to show true passion for your future line of work and convey to employers that it is more than a job to you. Companies also like to see a wide variety of extracurricular activities, not necessarily just ones related to your major, to show that you are a well rounded person so don’t be afraid to do a club sport or join a social club as well. When possible, try to take on leadership roles in extracurriculars to show potential employers that you are capable of taking on new challenges and are driven.
Alumni are a major resource in the recruiting process. Don’t be afraid to reach out to new grads you know personally who are now in industry. Also look at a company’s Linkedin page when applying, often it will let you know if any alumni from your school currently work there and it can be helpful to send a message, even if you don’t know them personally.
When approaching contract negotiations, it is important to understand that your salary is primarily dictated by job role and location. After receiving your initial offer, do some research on Glassdoor and similar websites as to what other companies in the same region are paying for the same role, and if you feel like your offer is significantly below average, try to negotiate closer to that average. It is also important to factor in other aspects of compensation such as bonuses and benefits and look at your total compensation compared to other companies. The important part of negotiating your contract is to not sound greedy or pushy, as companies are used to prospective employees negotiating their salaries, so long as they are civilized about it.
In general, unless you have a return offer from an internship, the recruiting process is long and tiring. There isn’t much you can do about it other than prepare yourself to the best of your ability and show employers that you are a capable candidate, both technically and personally.