Computer Science Alumni Symposium

Yesterday, I attended the CofC Computer Science Alumni Symposium.  The event consisted of nine alumni each giving a three minute talk to the students.  The talks were followed by a question and answer session.  The alumni discussed their experiences, their advice for job hunting, and some other miscellaneous issues such as cloud computing.  A couple of the alumni who had created their own start-ups even gave advice on starting a business.

Here's a compilation of some of the advice given during the symposium

• Interviewers like applicants who are clearly passionate about what they do

• Interviewers can tell if you are passionate by asking things like...
• how do you keep up with tech news?
• who is your favorite tech author?
• what was the last good tech book you read?

• Have a side project
• open source dev
• mobile dev 

•  Get an internship (of course)

• When you are going to an interview, know your stuff b/c they will find out if you don't

A speaker responded to this last tip - given by a fellow speaker - by stating the following....

• If you have completed a college computer science program, then you know what you need to know to get a job.  The company who hires you can bring you up to speed on anything you need to know.

• Don't just apply for every single job opportunity.  Apply for positions at companies that you believe you could be passionate for.

• College gives you a breadth of knowledge.  Gain a depth of knowledge in an area that interests you (on your own).  And then apply for a job where you can apply that depth of knowledge.