Tech Fair is the on-campus recruitment fair for you. Happening once a semester, this is your opportunity to learn more about companies in attendance, as well as show them your skills for internships and full-time jobs.

 

First Years

  • Go to learn more about companies you may apply to in the future: the projects, their hiring cycles, and their culture.

  • Ask about the background and skills they’re looking for.

  • Practice your small talk (introductions, answering questions they ask you, etc) and a good handshake.

 

Second Years

  • Getting an internship as a second year is difficult, but not impossible. Put your best foot forward!

  • Go to the Engineering Career Center to get your resume looked over. Ask your mentors and older friends to give you constructive criticism. 

  • Attend and engage at company information sessions -- if they see you at their session and at Tech Fair, it shows them you’re really interested!

  • I know it seems like you know nothing, but you’ve got the fundamentals. What can make the difference for you is passion and excitement!

 

Third Years

  • If you’re going for software engineering internships, start preparing for technical interviews. Companies will arrange interviews during or shortly after Tech Fair if you make an impression. Don’t wait until you have an interview lined up before you begin practicing!

  • Cracking the Coding Interview, LeetCode, HackerRank, and TopCoder are all good resources. Also review your Comp 250/251 material

  • You may think once your resume gets you the interview that you’re done with it… not so! Know your resume inside out; interviewers will ask you about what you say you know and the projects you’ve done. It’s a huge red flag if you can’t remember or mumble “oh, I did that a semester ago, uh…”

  • But don’t neglect preparing for the behavioral component! Remember, the people who interview you will be working with you. Make sure they can see you being a great colleague. Mock interviews from the Engineering Career Center are great practice, and will help you get your jitters out of the way. 

  • Timelines can vary, with many large companies starting to interview in October/November.

 

Fourth Years

  • The same advice as for third years, except companies now expect you to either have work experience or research that you can talk about. 

  • You may also want to start reaching out to companies earlier because full-time recruitment can start as early as August/September for a May graduation date