Resume Workshop

Get hired

Today we will be talking about resumes,interviews,career fairs, etc...

There are essentially two steps in getting a job:

1. Get an interview

2. Pass an interview

That may sound abrupt but that is the reality!

Get an interview

Do things, anything!

• Help out a RSO
• Work on toy side projects
• Do well in academic projects
• Volunteer (Hack SI)

Increase social presence

• Have a github

• Have a linkedin

• Have a decent resume

Prepare a pitch

My name is [X], I study [Y] at [Z] and am currently looking for a [A]. Hands off resume I really enjoy programming in [B], have done [C,D,E] projects, and have won [F,G,H]. I noticed Company [I] does [J] and are looking for [K].

Mindset

• Your objective is to show the employer that you are the right person to deliver
• Your objective is to show the employer that you are the right person to add value to the table
• Constantly think about how to add value and how to deliver
• You need to show that you are persistent, determined and result-oriented (but you should leave those out off your resume 😄 )
• You are a product trying to sell yourself.
• APPLY! APPLY! APPLY! No matter if you think you are "not qualified", you might as well, the worst you can get is a rejection email

Coding Assessments

• Almost any big company will require you to do a coding assessment online to weed out people
• If it's a FANG company these problems will most likely be quite difficult
• doing a leetcode problem a day is recommended if you are going to apply to FANG
• Fresh up on data structures and algorithms, b-search, b-trees, hash maps, etc.
• Don't get discouraged if you can't figure it out.

Resume

• We will get back to this a little later.

General "I can't even get an interview" tips

• Firstly, you need to make sure you're actually applying to enough places. I would set aside 30 minutes a day to just apply to places.
• If you aren't getting any responses, you need to rework your resume, more on that later.
• If you can't get past the coding assessment, then you need to study DS and algo's more
• Network! Knowing people in the industry is 100x more valuable than anything else. Go to meetups, talks, hackathons, etc. Connect with them on linkedin

Pass an interview

Dressing

• Dress professionaly. Better to be overdressed rather than under.
• All companies have different cultures so figure that out.

At the pitch

• Should of done research on the company
• Show you can add value and are capable to deliver consistently
• Ask questions about their product, their tech stack, etc.
• You have to show initiative
• Since this is 2019, you need to show that you want to be working for that company and want to stay there. Software engineers move around a lot. No company wants to invest in talent and later lose it.
• Eg: "I am interested in databases. I noticed you use database X. How do you solve problem Y? Why not use Z?"
• If totally out of words you can ask something general like "What is a typical work day like?" or "What is ratio of managers to developers?" "How many meetings a week?"

Behavioral interviews

• STAR format (look it up)
• Questions about conflicts between team members, projects, deadlines, issues etc
• Show you are a team player
• Rehearse such questions and prepare answers so you dont stumble.

Some companies do technical interviews as well. Some simply ask concepts while others make you write code!

Technical interviews

• Technical interviews can be difficult. Practice! Brush up on your data structures and algorithm skills!
• Do problems on hackerrank, leetcode, interviewbit etc
• Make a git repository out of it 😉
• Know basic data structures as well
• Some can ask you questions on the spot
• Some do take home exams
• Some do whiteboard coding

Book resoureces

• CTCI
• PIE
• CLRS

Resumes

• You are more than a resume by William Blakenship
• Seriously you are 😄
• But its the easiest way for the employer to predict whether you are good enough for the job
• Try to make your descriptions measurable
• Instead of "Wrote java to automate get requests", "Wrote 1 java module that automate Y requests and led to Z(decrease) of time"
• In short, "I used X to do Y which led to Z"
• Show that YOU CAN DELIVER and make the company/business better
• Please dont have typos and grammar mistakes
• Have contact information on top
• Link your linkedin and email
• Try to include projects or work experience
• Include courses if you dont have projects or experience to talk about
• BE DIFFERENT!, but not too different, you want to stand out, but not make the recruiter throw it in the trash instantly
• USE KEYWORDS, many online applicants will get filtered out for not having certain key words the company is looking for
• If it's a company you really want to work for, tailor your resume specifically to them.
• Dont have experience -> Do cool stuff on your own!
  • You dont have to make something super unique or cool
  • Everyone needs to start somewhere
  • Dont know where to start, make a todo list 😉

For a step by step guide on how to write a successfull resume I recommend This by FreeCodeCamp.org

PS: You can apply for as many companies as you want and get rejected, you just need that one company that says "You got the job" and you are good. Dont get disheartened.