5 Suggestions for Computer Science Students Interested in Working for a Tech Company

Studying computer science, I had my sights set on working for a large tech company when I graduated. With help and advice from people in the field, professors, and my peers, I was able to accomplish this task. Years later, I even became a tech lead for a fortune 500 company and was able to interview and hire my own programming team.

1. Decent Grades – Grades don’t need to be perfect, but they do need to be acceptable. If your GPA is not a 3.0 or above, do not list it on your resume. I did not necessarily want or need to see a 4.0 GPA and in fact would rather see a lower GPA with active involvement in the field over someone that received a 4.0 but did not maintain a job or club involvement.
2. Work Experience – I always wanted to see that someone worked while receiving their degree. I did not care if the work was in their field of study, but it was important to me that they had experience working with other’s and being managed. Plus, you never know what will stand out to an employer. I once saw on a resume that they had worked at Taco Bell as their first job. That initially peaked my interest in the candidate because that happened to be my first job as well.
3. Research Experience – Undergraduate research opportunities offer invaluable programming experience and the opportunity to read a lot of technical articles. I find this skill to be extremely important in technical fields because the field is always changing and requires constant reading of emerging technologies and concepts. If you are unsure of how to get involved, reach out to professors at your university and ask if they need help in their lab or if they know of any professors that need help. Research may also have perks at your university such as travel and collaboration with other universities. My research lab frequently collaborated with a university in Paris and we were able to spend summers in Paris, France.
4. Club Participation – There are many clubs and organizations at Universities. Get involved with as many as you can. You will learn new skills and share knowledge among other professors and peers. You can even gain leadership experience by becoming an officer of a club. Look for clubs that pertain to your interests and that help with where you want to be when you graduate. For example, I was interested in mobile technology so I joined the Mobile Application Research Group where we worked on teams to create IOS and Android applications.
5. Conferences – One of the most valuable experiences that I had was attending conferences during my senior year of my B.S. degree. There are many recruiters at conferences looking for talented candidates like yourself. A lot of times your school will pay for you to attend these conferences so if there is one you are interested in, contact an advisor for your degree program and see if you can get part or all of the expenses covered to attend.