Advice from the Head of People at a local start-up

What you should do while attending the SCF that doesn’t include “strong handshakes” or “dress nicely.”

Nate Fialkoff
Jan 20 · 3 min read

Startup Career Fair will be held on February 7, 2020 in the Duderstadt. Register now to be included in our priority resume book.

The following is advice from Jasmine Burns, the Head of People at Censys.


Sure, showing up presentable and giving a firm handshake does help. But to me, it’s not everything. It’s not even at the top of my list. Surprisingly, I’ve hired people who were walking by and didn’t even know the career fair was going on. How is that possible you ask? It’s actually easy if you consider doing these things:

Censys is an Ann Arbor cybersecurity startup trusted by over half of the Fortune 500

1) Research. The. Company. It boggles my mind every time I notice someone has stood in our line for 20 minutes, gets to the front, and asks “what do you guys do?” If you are planning on handing your resume to a company, know what they do, even if just a basic summary. All of this information is on the internet! Write it down if you need to, and refresh your memory as you’re next up in line. If by chance you forgot the career fair was going on, look it up on your phone before walking up. You’ll need this information to master the second tip.

2) Make it clear how your experience, skills, and passion line up with what the company does. If you’ve done thorough research, this should be easy to do. For example, “I’ve taken Professor Halderman’s class and am so excited about what Censys is doing and want to help work on the problems you are solving.” If you can easily connect your background with the hiring needs of the company, you’ll have a better chance of moving to the next stages in the process.

3) Make a lasting impression with your personality. Think about it this way: when we go home from the career fair, the first thing we do is pull out the resumes of the people who stood out to us the most and reach out to you first. So be personable, speak loudly, sell yourself. Don’t be afraid you might be boasting, you are trying to get a company to hire you! Showcase your skills, projects you’ve worked on, and who you really are, even outside of school! We will remember you for this.

I hope we see you at the Startup Career Fair this year, mastering all of these!

Jasmine Burns, Head of People @ Censys


To meet Jasmine, and the rest of our world-class recruiters, make sure to register for Startup Career Fair, on February 7, 2020. If you register by 2/4, you’ll be included in our priority resume book which will be sent to all of our companies.

Can’t wait to see you #Launch.

— MPowered and the Startup Career Fair Team

If you want to reach out, please contact us at uofm-startupcareerfair@umich.edu

Nate Fialkoff

Written by

Hi! I study Cognitive Science and Complex Systems at the University of Michigan. “At a Coffee Shoppe,” are my thoughts, focused on behavior & nature of reality

University of Michigan Startup Career Fair

University of Michigan’s Startup Career Fair gives students the opportunity to work at world class startups

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