by Imran Khan

1
Job Search, Resume writing, and Interview
skills    
   

2
Agenda

• Introduction (Informal Session)
• Job Search Skills and Resources
• Writing Good Resumes
• Preparing For Interview
• The Interview process
• Interview Follow Up
• Open QA (Focus of this session)             

3
Job Search Skills and Resources

• Web search
• Networking (personal contacts)
• Local news papers
• Specific company web sites
• Industry flyers posted on campus
• Attend university organized visits to companies
  (e.g. Sabre, Lockheed Martin)
• Head hunters
• Be very persistent in your search

4
Writing Good Resumes

• Be brief, precise and objective (Avoid being a
  Jack-of-all-trades)
• Update your resume per specific job, emphasis
  points, avoid generic resumes
• Managers usually spend a very short time on
  initial review of resumes due to volume, give
  them reason to select yours
• Ensure that key items are on the first page

5
Writing Good Resumes (Continued)

• Avoid lengthy paragraphs and detailed description
  (save for interview)
• Do not include unrelated job experiences (e.g.
  delivering news paper)
• List affiliations and memberships, highlight your
  relevant interest areas
• Pay attention to format, avoid gaps in dates
  (avoid conflicting information)

6
Resume Format

• Personal Information
• Objective
• Education
• Skill summary
• Work Experience
• Teaching/Teaching Assistance
• Publication
• Activities and Memberships
• Other Supporting Information

7
Sample Resume

• JEFF SMITH
•  
• 4800 Harbor Dr.
• Dallas, TX. 75022
• [phone] or [phone]
• E-mail jeff.smith_at_abc.com
•  
•  OBJECTIVE
• To pursue a web development position . Short
  max 1 to 2 sentences with focus on the specific
  job your applying for
•  
•  
• EDUCATION
• Ph.D. Computer Science, X University, Dallas,
  Texas, 2003
• Dissertation Title A Methodology for
  Data Advisor X
• M.S. Computer Science, Y University, Dallas,
  Texas, 1997
• Thesis Title A Structured Approach
  ... Advisor Y
• B.S. Computer Science, University of Z,
  Waterloo, Canada, 1995
•  

8
Sample Resume Contd

• SKILLS
• Languages C/C, JAVA, XML,
  HTML, ASP
• Operating Systems Windows, Web Servers
  (IIS/Apache), Unix, Linux
• Hardware Intel-Based PCs, SUN
  SPARC, RS/6000, AIX
• Network Protocols TCP/IP, Ethernet, Serial
  comm.(E3270, RUMBA)
• Distributed Protocols CORBA, RPC, SOAP, Open/SQL
  servers
• Database SYBASE, ORACLE

9
Sample Resume Contd

• WORK EXPERIENCE
• Senior Software Engineer, October 2000 to Present
• Company X, Dallas Texas
•  
• Participated in design, development, testing and
  integration of a number of real-time embedded
  systems at X. .
• .
• .
• Software Engineer, August 1998 to October 2000
• Company Y, Dallas, Texas
•  
• Software Engineer with the primary responsibility
  for converting a large-scale legacy-based
  software system to a client-server distributed
  system. The project was completed successfully in
  approximately 10 months and it was enhanced by an
  addition of a data acquisition system.
  Highlights included
• Implemented a system .
• Designed and Developed   ..
• List all jobs
•  

10
Sample Resume Contd

• TEACHING/TEACHING ASSISTANCE if any
• List relevant courses Include Title and date
•  
• PUBLICATIONS significant, if any
• Paper/workshop/other Include title and date
  published
• Journal/trade magazine articles
•  
•  
• ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS significant, if
  any
• Association for Computer Machinery (ACM)
• IEEE Computer Society
•  
•  
• Include Personal and other relevant Information
  Optional e.g. work status, visa status. Include
  this information only if it strengthens your
  resume

11
Preparing for the Interview

•  
• Learn as much as you can about the company and
  the job you are applying for
• Learn about the companys product line
  specifically in the area for which you have
  applied
• Develop your thoughts on how you are qualified
  for this job
• Write out a list of what you have to offer this
  employer in this job
• Relax, get some rest go into the interview
  well-rested, at the top of your game

12
The Interview process

• Be on time
• Dress in an appropriate manner
• Dont try to oversell yourself!
• Remember that, often, the selection is based
  mostly on how a person will fit into a
  team/company

13
The Interview process (Contd)

• Ask questions, be involved in the process
• Be honest about your technical skills, but share
  your ability and willingness to learn
• Try to get a commitment from the hiring manager
  on when a decision will be made and when you can
  expect to hear from him/her

14
Interview Follow up

• Dont be a pest!
• Follow-up only after the expected
  feedback/decision date
• If not selected, try (respectfully!) to get
  information on why

15
Questions

• QA?