Basic Information

What is tech?

The tech industry incorporates a range of different roles that all serve to develop computer and technology related products. For the most part, tech firms are either big name technology corporations or startups in more niche industries with very specific goals in mind.

Some of the most popular tech roles include software engineers, product managers, and data analysts.

Each team has a very specific focus and works on projects that specifically pertain to their area of the web platform or the company’s products. Certain teams are designated to frontend projects and to backend projects (and more). Frontend refers to what users see and interact with when they use the product, whereas backend refers more to the software and actual function of the product. 

What is software engineering?

There are two main kinds of software engineers (SWE):

  • Systems Software Engineers are responsible for working on computer systems. Think of Systems SWE as the ones who work on ensuring the core functions of the system are running smoothly. 

  • Applications Software Engineers are responsible for working on specific computer applications software, whether that be designing, creating, or updating them. Applications SWE as the ones who are working on different apps or specific functions that depend on those core functions to run smoothly.

What does a job in software engineering look like?

Major Responsibilities: Responsibilities include using computer languages such as Java, Python, C++, etc. to construct software products, run performance tests, and debug programs. This career path is definitely one that requires a level of technical skills. 

Day-to-day: A SWE’s daily tasks follows the lifecycle of standard software development: planning, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. The exact responsibilities and tasks differ by skill. As an entry-level SWE, you will likely be in charge of developing features for products as well as doing operational tasks like assessing performance and fixing bugs. 


Careers in this industry come with many pros and cons, depending on what kind of a person you are.

PROS: People are attracted to software engineering because of the high pay and extensive benefit packages. Many large tech firms are also known for their comfortable work environments and prime locations in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, Boston, New York City, and more. Also, work schedules in tech tend to be more flexible than those in finance. SWE work on a more regular schedule than people in finance and usually fewer hours, averaging 40 hours/wk, sometimes 50. They have very structured start and end times in daily work life.

CONS: Some disadvantages are that technology is constantly evolving, so software engineers must continually update their skill sets in order to keep up. Also, software engineering jobs often still have long hours and face stressful responsibilities.

EXIT OPPORTUNITIES: Software engineering careers are generally pretty long-lasting. People generally enter SWE with the intention of staying in tech and in SWE, although they may take on new projects within tech in their career.

So how do I land a SWE internship or a full-time position?

Recruiting Process:

Most big tech companies recruit in the fall and generally finish up by the end of the calendar year. The recruiting process generally looks like an initial application, a phone screen, a coding assignment or challenge, a phone interview, and then an in-person interview.  Of course, this varies from company to company.

  1. Behavioral Phone Screen:  After you submit your initial application, many companies will first run a behavioral phone screen where they want to get a sense of who you are and your experience. Be ready to talk through your resume and be sure to have a good understanding of the company. You want to make the company feel special; recruiters are not going to be very happy if it seems like you know nothing about them. Preparing some questions and showing your knowledge of the company will make a good first impression.

  2. Coding Challenge: Next, some firms will ask you to complete an online coding test or challenge. The point of these is to confirm you do indeed have a technical skill base. You can prepare for these through sites like HackerRank, LeetCode, CodeWars, etc.

  3. Phone Interview: Once a firm confirms you are able to code, they may invite you to move on to an interactive phone interview. In this phone interview, you will often be simultaneously solving a programming problem on a shared document and verbally explaining your thought process and actions to the interviewer. Here, they really just want to see how you think through these problems. Thinking out loud and asking questions along the way will allow them to see how you work when you run into something new. Feel free to ask them for help along the way if needed!

  4. On-site Interview:  The end of the recruiting process is usually an in-person interview on-site. Companies will invite you to interview multiple times in one day where you will be asked both technical and behavioral questions. People from different teams will interview you to see if you’re a good fit. Again, for the technical part of the interview, recruiters are looking to see how you problem-solve and apply technical concepts. The actual compilation and syntax of your code is much less important, so choose whatever language you feel most comfortable with!

 

How should I best prepare for tech recruiting?

The 5-pronged approach is often used by those preparing for tech recruiting:

  1. Employee referrals from friends, mentors, alumnae/i, etc. can really give you a step-up from other candidates

  2. Cold-emailing recruiters is also a great way to show your interest in the company/job; LinkedIn, Hunter, and Slik are great resources to get contact information.

  3. Career fairs will allow you to get exposure to many different companies and talk to recruiters from ones you are interested in. There are many different fairs tailored to different interests and industries through OCS!

  4. Networking events on- and off-campus are also great opportunities to connect with individuals at companies. Try to stand out from others and express how interested you are. If you can, grab their business card and follow up with them through an email!

  5. Online applications are very accessible and often easy to complete! You can find some through the Easy Application List and Intern Supply.

Attend career fairs and network with recruiters and alumni

  • Bring your resume (~10) and questions to show your interest and enthusiasm to recruiters, following up with an email after an event if appropriate.

  • Having this sort of connection with recruiters and alumnae/i will help you stand out during that first (very tough) resume drop. So, email that old friend of yours before you press “submit”!

  • Often, recruiters will search their inbox for the emails of applicants when going through resumes! 

Stay knowledgeable about the industry! Follow stories that you find interesting and could bring up in interviews and casual conversation if needed.

Take on your own passion projects: (especially if you don’t have much experience)

  • Learning something and finishing what you start

  • Brainstorm an idea (lots are listed here!) and create a structured plan and start/end point

  • 1-2 month-long, involving data structures, algorithms, design decisions

  • Learn how to use Git/Github

  • Open source projects are community-based and accept help from all different programmers; two good entry points are Google Summer of Code and Sayan Chowdhury’s article on open source for beginners. Github also just released their very own open source guide. 

Attend hackathons and conferences:

Solidify your understanding of key topics:

Practice coding challenges to prepare yourself for tests and technical interviews:

Do your research on what kind of tech company you see yourself at:

  • Some leading tech companies include the big name ones most people have heard of: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Palantir, Yext, Apple, Compass, Adobe, SAP, Fast Enterprises, Paylocity, Ultimate Software, DocuSign, HubSpot, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Procore Technologies, Zoom Video Communications, IBM, Hewlett-Packard Company

  • Research the company’s missions, programs, affinity/minority groups, culture, etc. (Glassdoor is a great resource!)

  • To add to your list, check out The Breakout List, Wealthfront’s Career-Launching Companies List, and the CrunchBase Unicorn Leaderboard.

TL;DR

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