Michtom School of Computer Science

No matter who you are or what you want, the Hiatt Career Center will work with you on how to get there.  Schedule a one-on-one appointment with a career counselor in Hiatt or if you are a graduate student, reach out to Marika McCann or Jonathan Anjaria in the GSAS Career Development office.

The department offers two resume workshops in the fall in preparation for the annual Technology Career Fair so be sure to sign up for one of those. Pito Salas, is the dedicated Industry Liaison for computer science students and you can meet with him individually during his office hours on Wednesdays from 1:30 - 2:30. 

It is important to have a good, up-to-date resume. Hiatt provides a document with sample resumes, including those for Computer Science Students, on page 28.

Questions to ask yourself when preparing a resume:

• Q: “Should X be on my resume”? 
• Q: “Must my resume be one page?”
  A: It depends on where you are in your career. For most computer science students, keeping your resume to one page is a good discipline. It forces you to think hard about whether something is important enough to be there.
• Q: “How important is it to have some kind of portfolio?”
  A: There is no one-size-fits-all advice. As a general rule it is important to help an interested employer understand what you will be able to do for them. A portfolio is a great way to do that. When including portfolio information 
• Q: “Is it true that employers only spend a few seconds scanning resumes?”A: Yes, and it’s actually worse.
  A: Nowadays many employers have automated software that pre-scans resumes before a person even looks at them. There are many stories about whether they use AI and how to make it pass that automated screen. One very common advice is to look at the job posting or description and find keywords and buzzwords that are important, and then try to incorporate them appropriately into your resume. 

Your resume should include your portfolio. A portfolio can take many different forms, especially for Computer Science students. Somehow you need to show what you’ve learned and what you can do so that a potential employer can go beyond the courses you took and your grades to understand whether you are a fit. Here are some models for you to consider, depending on your focus and interests 

Tips for Side projects

• Focus on something that interests you, that is important to you

• Work with another student so you can encourage each other
• Do something hard, go deep rather than broad
• Do an independent study

Research and publications

• Volunteer in a research lab (Computer Science or other)
• Do a Senior Honors Thesis
• Do an independent study

Designs and other visuals

• Designs made with tools such as Figma
• Sketches, paper prototypes, 3D printer items
• Videos

Experiences

• Teaching assistant
• Start or lead a club

Independent Studies

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Internships: https://www.brandeis.edu/hiatt/experience/jobs-internships/index.html

Job and Internships: https://www.brandeis.edu/hiatt/experience/jobs-internships/index.html

• TAMID
• Beta
• Brandeis Bit by Bit is more of a service oriented club, but it can provide useful projects and experience for students on campus. Their website also has the president's email if you have further questions. 
• Quant Club is in a similar vein as Bit by Bit, but dives further into projects bridging together applied math and computer science. Website and contacts are here. 

• National Groups and Organizations
  • General groups that also aren't necessarily associated with Brandeis are Women in Tech and Women in Data Science. Anyone can attend the career conferences and conventions. 
  • SASE (Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers) at Brandeis allows members to attend either a National or Regional Collegiate Conference where students can network with employers, attend workshops, and be a part of SASEHack (offered only at the National Conference). This is the general SASE website not specific to Brandeis and the list of employers attending this year's National Conference to get an idea of employer opportunities students can take advantage of. You can click the Exhibitor List at the top to see the attending companies.
  • A program I was a part of was Break Through Tech's AI and Machine Learning Program hosted at MIT. More info here, but essentially it offers mentorship, possible internship opportunities, and industry-related projects that students can present on. I joined as a freshman, so it's an opportunity available to all skill sets. The coordinator, while I was there, was Chu Huang. Her email if you'd like to discuss more about it with her: chuhuang@mit.edu

Depending on your own style and mindset you might ask different people a similar question. Usually these questions do not have a single “correct” answer. And very likely one person will answer differently or actually even contradict the other one. This is very common and normal. You still have the responsibility to decide which answer you think is more credible or appropriate.