Last week Dean Chung wrote about the importance of being strategic when choosing a capstone project and the importance of identifying, in advance, what type of job(s) or academic research you are interested in, and choose a capstone project that will help you in interviews. His advice is invaluable, and I will continue with the theme of being strategic in planning your career. 

Landing an interview is the first step but getting the job or place in graduate school requires several different types of skills, one of these is being able to talk in-depth about an area you are passionate about. In most interviews, you will be asked about your capstone project. As an interviewer, I can easily see if a student is passionate about a topic – eyes sparkle, often their posture changes, they relax, and even start to talk faster. Interviewers will look for the following: 

   1. How passionate you are about the topic.

   2. Your deep understanding of the topic. 

   3. Your presentation skills. 

   4. Being able to answer questions about it.

   5. If you have been involved in learning something new outside of your courses – this demonstrates a desire to self-learn and dive deeper into the subject area. 

Talking to a group of people about technology topics, and answer questions, can be very stressful if you do not prepare in advance. How can you prepare in advance? Back to Dean Chung’s message about being strategic and planning in advance. Start by attending the STC’s Technology Clubs and Research Groups Weekly meeting on Thursday from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM during each quarter; it’s a very supportive environment where students present on various topics. This is a fabulous way to practice and get support from students and faculty. Attending these meetings, you might even discover a new passion from learning about a topic another student is presenting.

Another way to gain experience is attending program quarterly community-building events held in the fourth week of each term. Each program is building a community of students for networking and support. Again, this is where you can practice talking about interests, career plans, and more. I encourage students to participate. All STC activities, including the archived STC Thursday Byte, can be found on the STC website. Also, check out the ‘Career Tip’ in the STC Thursday Byte each week – this month, the focus is on interviews. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your program manager or me, dvorakradana@cityu.edu.