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SWE 401 Presentation

SWE 401 Presentation. a.k.a. “Jeanette’s Guide to Getting an Internship”. Jeanette Dabrowski 11 February 2011. Getting THE JOB. Researching Companies. Jumping off point: list of employers at GMU Job & Internship Fair Visit company websites When possible, call company directly

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SWE 401 Presentation

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  1. SWE 401 Presentation a.k.a. “Jeanette’s Guide to Getting an Internship” Jeanette Dabrowski 11 February 2011

  2. Getting THE JOB

  3. Researching Companies • Jumping off point: list of employers at GMU Job & Internship Fair • Visit company websites • When possible, call company directly • Visit Volgenau School of IT & Engineering's Undergraduate Jobs page • Search using HireMason • Generic job search websites: Indeed, Simply Hired, CareerInfoNet's Employer Locator, and others

  4. OTHER Preparation • Write resume and cover letter(s) - see “Moving On” guide • Have resume reviewed by Career Services • Ask family friends, former teachers, etc. to be references • Get business cards from Vistaprint?

  5. Interviewing • Consider Career Services workshops • Find on-campus interviewing opportunities through HireMason (has a required workshop) • Research/practice behavioral interviewing • Before the interview: know what the company does and how you might fit in • Create list of questions to ask interviewer • Dress as professionally as you can afford

  6. Tips For Job Fair • Research companies BEFORE you go to the job fair • What to bring: • Professional-looking, stiff folder • Working pen • Lots of copies of resume • Business cards if you have them • Dress professionally (no jeans or backpacks)

  7. Words Of Wisdom • Stay organized! • List of contacts • Spreadsheet of companies researched/applied to • If at all possible, get the name of a real person • Be persistent (follow-up and stay in contact) • This is a marathon, not a sprint – don’t give up! • I applied for 26 different positions at 24 separate companies, and wrote a total of 20 custom cover letters

  8. HPTi: Summer 2010 INTERNSHIP REFLECTION

  9. My Internship: HPTi • High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi) is a contractor for the federal government • ~400 employees • Two locations: Reston, VA and Arlington, VA (Ballston) • Worked as a developer on a budget tracking tool for a government agency • Project used an agile software development model • Total of 11 Virginia interns in Summer 2010, mix of IT and Computer Science majors

  10. SWE 301/401 Comparison • Will follow a single project from conception to deployment • CS/SWE 421 will be applicable • Internship will be helpful for SWE 437 • Will work in team environment • Focused mainly on maintenance and testing • CS/SWE 421 was completely true! • Not very helpful for SWE 437 – did mostly system tests • Worked on team with four coworkers What I expected What actually happened

  11. Lessons Learned • Everything in CS/SWE 421 is true • PowerPoint is important (COMM 320 was helpful) • Be social! • Attend happy hours • Go out to lunch with coworkers

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