Getting Started

Step 1: The most important step! Begin by scheduling an appointment with your professional career advisor, Michael Maher. He will help you define your career goals and coordinate your efforts. He can help you make the connection between your background and interests to potential roles and types of employers. After meeting with Michael, read suggested career books and outline your approach. Some suggested titles are listed.

Step 2:Target your search by creating lists of companies in specific regions or industries. Create a list of potential contacts at each company.

Step 3: Research the companies you are interviewing with and the industries they are in. See suggested resources for company and industry research below.

Step 4:Talk to Michael, second-year students, and alumni about jobs, companies, and interviewing.

Pay attention to advice on how to contact alumni and potential employers. Learn how to craft an engaging message to get your foot in the door. You want to make a good first impression!

Researching Companies & Industries

In addition to researching the companies and industries you are interviewing in, review information in the interview database section of JPAY such as the types of questions asked by the different companies.

Company Research and Profiles:

Researching Start-ups:

Researching Industries:

Building Tech Skills

  • Enroll in MOOCs. Cornell has joined edX to provide courses, and you also can take some free courses through Coursera and Udacity. Courses cover business, data science, language, and more.

Books & Journals

In order to keep up-to-date and/or prepare for your interviews, keep these books and journals in mind. Also keep abreast of key industry sources such as Mary Meeker's annual Internet Trends Report.

Journals:

Tech Interview Books:

You may also want to practice some consulting case questions to get into the problem solving mindset. See CQ Interactive for example problems and solutions.

General Career Books: