I have some specific questions about myself and the the situation I'm in, but as the title implies, I think it might not be a bad idea to put some general info for all college students that have graduated or will be graduating soon. Some brief background info about myself (may help for giving advice?): I'm a Computer Science major at UT, and I'll be graduating this semester. GPA is pretty good I think, although maybe not great (~3.15, which is normally easily above the minimum GPA requirements in most/all the job offerings I've looked at). I won't go over all the skills and things I listed in my resume, but I think they tend to go pretty well with the normal job requirements for an entry-level software developer/programmer position (experience with Java, C++, SQL/MySQL, working with others, strong verbal skills, experience with testing frameworks, etc.). For the most part, it seems like I haven't had any trouble getting interviews this semester (I've either been offered an interview for every position I've applied, or the employer is still waiting to make their decisions about interviews). I think my one glaring weakness is that I have no work experience. No internships, no part-time jobs, pretty much nothing (well, outside of some minor volunteer work, but that probably doesn't mean much here). I'm basically trying to find the best way to get around that weakness whenever it comes up in my job interviews. Besides it being a normal thing to ask about, my resume doesn't clearly distinguish the fact that the "projects" I've worked on have all been a part of my coursework, so I'm sure it is one of the first questions an employers has after looking at my resume. I had my first interview on Tuesday, and of course, this question came up. I was expecting it, and while I think I answered it OK, in retrospect, I think I could have done better. For one, I anticipated more follow-up questions from the interviewer which I would have been prepared to answer, but they weren't really asked. He stuck to more general questions (Why do you like CS? Favorite Course? What do you do in your free time? etc.). Again, I was more or less prepared to answer those questions, but I didn't really feel like I could sell myself very well. I was hoping for some questions like, "Why should we hire you?" or "What can you offer us?" kind of questions where I could talk about some of my strong points (leadership, ability to learn, etc.). I probably should have been more aggressive in mentioning those things, but as I said, I was expecting more questions that would be related to those topics. When the interviewer said he was done with questions, I was actually pretty surprised and disappointed (interview was 10-15 minutes IIRC, and that included several questions from myself). I was hoping that perhaps he had seen enough to send me into the next round of interviews (this was an on-campus interview, and I'd probably have at least 2 more interviews before being offered a job), but I did receive the dreaded "we regret to inform you" email yesterday. While I was a little let down by their decision, I definitely realize that I have plenty of opportunities left (have two more interviews next week, possibly some more in mid-to-late March). That said, I don't want to repeat any mistakes I made in the first interview. I do have some ideas on how I could better handle the situation, but I'm hoping that some of you guys with more experience in this area could give some useful advice as well. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about the much-longer-than-necessary post, but I just wanted to make my situation relatively clear in case it helps when giving advice.
I think I posted this in an old thread once, but it's more important for you to ask them questions than for you to sit back and wait for them to ask good questions. It makes it easier for the interviewer. Prepare a list beforehand and memorize it. You can use the questions to frame/guide the discussion to points you want to emphasize. edit: here is the old thread http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=3911654&highlight=interview#post3911654
you can answer the interviewers questions in code. as far as not having internships, did you work on any major projects at school? ie helping out a professor on a project. or have you dont any freelance programming for friends/family? you could talk about stuff like that. goodluck!
The thread that was posted by SF is where you really need to focus and concentrate on. I'll just add that networking is a big thing that can pay off for you. Check with your major department at your school and see if they know people in industry who could get you an interview. I hate to say it but lots of time, people get jobs when they know someone at that place. The only time that is not true is when there are no applicants that have that "inside track". Good luck.
This is a good point. When you said you were disappointed they didn't ask you things, you should've reversed it and offered them questions or statements about yourself. Show some interest in the companies you interview with - find news clippings about the technologies they're using, the software they produce, etc. If you can help it, don't make it a back and forth volley of questions and answers - converse with them.
I'd try to email DD through the board now that he is out of retirement. he might at least have some good contacts for you.
I actually did have about 4-5 questions or so prepared, including the usual "What can I expect to be doing?" style question (although he just told me what he does, which didn't seem like what I'd be doing). I even was curious to see his response regarding any potential "bad" things (although maybe weakness/area of improvement is a better description, which is how I phrased it) about the company from a employee's perspective, as well as how I could adapt to those circumstances (this was a large company, so he talked about how executives would not necessarily have the best communication skills with people at the "bottom"). No salary, vacation, etc. questions. I think I showed that I was clearly interested in the company (note that I did see them at a career fair and went to their information session, which I made sure to mention and talk about briefly). Perhaps my mistake was that I was simply trying to show that I was interested though. I did not attempt to ask questions that would address some of the issues I mentioned in the OP. I'm definitely going to try to change that with future interviews.
* Bring in your VIDEO GAME SALES report for all the previous 12 months. * Tell everyone in the interview room that PS3 is a much better choice and that [se]xBox has no Blu-ray support. ^ That's how I got MY last job. you know I kid, Mr. Cola. You're a cool guy. Good luck on your interview.
Its been a while since I interview, but i interviews with a lot of companies, and I found the jobs I got offers for were the ones I sounded arrogant like I didn't want the job.
Convey an attitude of very interested, yet not desperate. Also, don't lie on your resume or in your interview.
This surprisingly works. Its strange. But is usually only works with highly experienced individuals, not some guy coming out of college with decent grades but no internships.
Exactly. You can only pull this off if your resume rocks and you know your ****. Everyone, especially in IT, hates college hires. They think because they graduated that they know everything when in reality, they know nothing. Did I say that I hate college hires because I want to make it abundantly clear that I hate college hires. Oh yeah, and they suck and are pretty much useless for the first couple of years.
The best tip i can give is to just go on more interviews. No matter how much you prepare, getting actual interview time will hone your skills and pretty much sharpen your instincts about the interview. You'll get the hang of it after a couple more interviews. I think your school might have mock interviews or some job interview stuff that will help you at your skills, not only with answering questions, but asking them also. Follow SF's advice. Good luck.
Don't mention you play Final Fantasy. seriously employers want people that can get along with other employees. don't speak too much about your grades. show some personality and you'll be fine.
I was almost in the exact same position as you a few years back, same school, same major, same gpa. I was lucky to have an internship though. If you don't have any work experience you need to make up for that somehow. I hope you program for fun in your free time. This helps alot because it shows you like programming and you can then talk about the projects you created. Contributing to or starting an open source project can carry the same weight as an internship sometimes. You could also consider doing some lame projects on rentacoder.com to have something to put on your resume. Or you and a friend can start a consulting business and do some small projects cheap here and there. Also, If all the java you know is from doing class projects, you won't be that useful in the workplace. Jobs require knowledge of servlets and all the j2ee crap. As for interviews, you need to act excited about the job and super confident that you can do it. Also don't get discouraged if you don't get the job. On campus interviews are a numbers game, some companies will interview 30 people for 1 spot. Also in this economy they might just decide not to hire at all. In the same vein, don't limit your job search to campus recruiting. You are competiting with people with higher gpa's and more work experience than you. Use craigslist, monster, or cold contact austin tech companies.
Doesnt everybody lie on their resume? I've always wondered if companies can even really check what you have done... I have a friend who is an engineer made about 70k first year out of college. He's been there now about 3 years. And he is a history major obviously he didnt put that on his resume but got the the job anyways...
I was pretty much in your exact same position, ok gpa with no work exp, but with a different major. Having no working experience will definitely hurt you a lot, especially in these times where a lot of people looking for jobs will have more experience. As somebody already said, you should make up for lack of work exp. After it was apparent how much my lack of exp was hurting me, I did some volunteer work at a nonprofit org doing some basic book keeping to beef up my resume. That volunteer experience was pretty much my internship and got me a decent paying job at a small company.
Yeah...this is sort of another problem of mine. Not that I don't enjoy programming in my free time (I do it occasionally), but I tend to have other things I enjoy doing more...don't think I need to explain what. I did create some small projects here and there, or extend/reuse some school work I created, but nothing major (EX: speeding up a password cracker or something). I've gotten better though, partly because I realize it can help me as you pointed, and of course, partly because I am genuinely interested in doing more on my own. A course I had last semester (Software Engineering) sort of introduced me to databases and web applications, which I really enjoyed, so I've been looking into some online tutorials in this area to help me learn more. Still in the early stages unfortunately (finding resources), so no real good finished products. I did mention this (more or less) in my interview. In the Software Engineering course I mentioned, we were basically given the task of recreating the current web application that UT uses to match TAs to professors (using HTML and PHP/Ruby/Python/JavaScript/etc. to create the web pages, MySQL for the database, a matching algorithm we implemented earlier in the semester, presenting the work every 2 weeks, working in groups of 6, etc.). Granted, I never had a job so I can't say for sure, but it definitely seemed a lot more like a real-life project as opposed to the usual academic work I had before. Even though this is a school project, I try to push this as my best project (and it is I suppose). Most of the time I've mentioned it to recruiters, they sound pretty impressed, but I have the problem of trying to figure out how I can talk about it (and even if I do, it is still just a school project). I did bring it up in my interview and discussed it for a decent amount of time, although didn't get into specifics, particularly what I personally did in the group...which probably would have helped (I think I showed some good leadership qualities, especially in this project). Yeah, this is some of the stuff I've been trying to teach myself. Good point. Hmm...true. Think I'll look into this... Anyway, thanks for all the feedback everyone.
I don't think you should ask what "bad things" might come up during work... Rather express your ability to be proactive through these scenarios when you are asked questions that might relate to this. It's important to use the questions they ask in your favor. Elaborate and market yourself to them. Of course, don't lie.. just always portray your answers in an interview in a way which lets the potential employer know that you are proactive (what i think is the most important trait) and willing to learn, divert from original plans, and basically create value for the firm. Also, I believe in an honest employee who isn't afraid to make mistakes and own up to them.. this does not mean to go out and make mistakes carelessly. There should be a question where you can throw these points about you out there--if that is who you are, of course. Basically, play to your strengths. practice your answers. and be concise--something I wasn't in this post. Be confident and let them know that hiring you is a good decision for them and not hiring you would be a mistake.
