Meet the Professionals School of Computer Science Thursday 21 April 2016 In partnership with The University of Manchester Alumni Association and Careers Service
Welcome Welcome to our Meet the Professionals event. It gives you the opportunity to talk to former students who studied similar subjects to you, and have gone on to be successful in their careers. You will meet alumni at different stages of their career who are able to offer advice and guidance and you will have the opportunity to ask them about their individual career paths. In groups of five or six, you will have 10 minutes with an alumnus before moving onto the next alumni and repeating the process. After everyone has met, we will break and you will have the opportunity to talk informally with our alumni. Here you can ask follow up questions, seek additional advice and exchange contact information. Timetable 17:00-17:15 Registration 17:15-17:35 Welcome talk 17:35-18:35 Speed networking 18:35-19:00 Informal networking 19:00 Close
Making the most of the event Before the event Research the alumni - In this guide you will find information about the alumni attending the event including their career timeline. What do you want to know? - Think about what you want to get out of the event, who you re particularly interested in meeting and what you need to ask about their individual career path. After the event Get LinkedIn - Now that you ve met some people working in the sector you re interested in, connect with them on LinkedIn and discover more about them and their employers. During the event Practise networking - Use the time at the end of the event to network and ask questions that you perhaps didn t have chance to ask earlier. Exchange contact details - Don t be afraid to ask for contact details, if there s someone you d like to stay in contact with, ask them for an email address or phone number. Conversation starters Worried about networking? Networking is a great way to gain personal insights and start deciding on a career path. You will hear others experiences and make contact with people in the area you re interested in. Try to talk to as many people as possible from a variety of roles and consider talking to people from a different background to you to broaden your options. Prompts and possible questions to ask What is a typical day like in your role? How did you get started in this role? What kind of work experience would be helpful? What is the selection process like? What are the key skills needed for this role? What is the working environment like? What do you enjoy most about this role? What is the most challenging part of your role? Where did you look for work? Is there any other advice you could give someone interested in this career path?
Chris Seaton PhD Computer Science 2015 Research Manager Oracle Labs A portfolio of projects can prove that you are able to use technology and that you can deliver a useful project. This is much easier in computer science than many other fields and even small projects that show interest and understanding make a big difference to how I see candidates. Research Manager Oracle Labs 2015 PhD University of Manchester 2015 MEng University of Bristol 2007 British Army Officer 2007-11 Internship with Oracle Labs 2013 Mihai Anca BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2012 Software Engineer Envoy Don t be afraid to reach out directly to employees of companies you re interested in. Having a personal touch helps you through the interview process and you might even get jobs/ internships that are not advertised. 2015 Working remotely for Envoy Growth and Mobile Engineer, Twitter 2010 Software Engineer, FreeAgent in Edinburgh 2012 Graduated BSc(Hons) Computer Science
Sufian Al-Qasem BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2008 Software Developer Marshall Wace Focus all your energies on what you love and don t worry about financial rewards in the early stages. The first step is understanding what you are passionate about, which is not as easy as you might first think. Present C++ Programmer, Marshall Wace 2010 Graduate Recruitment Programme, Marshall Wace (asset management) 2004-2008 Read Software Engineering with Industrial Experience 2006-2007 Placement year at IBM, Warwick Various roles at Nokia and Markit (financial data) James Couperthwaite BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Senior Engineer ARM Ltd Don t just focus on technical skills: you need to be able to communicate and work with others to be successful. 2016 Promoted to Senior Engineer 2015 Completed ARM graduate programme 2012 Summer Internship with ARM 2013 Graduated with BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Graduate Engineer, ARM
Stephanie Cook BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Software Engineer BBC Make sure you make use of all the opportunities around you. Manchester (University and in general) has a huge selection of tech meetups, tech events and careers events which could lead you to your first position or give you a new interest. Software Engineer, The BBC Software Engineer, Magma Digital Graduated with a BSc(Hons) Computer Science Worked my placement year with a small Manchester firm building websites and small applications Internship, Magma Digital (Digital Agency) during final year Qasim Ashraf BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Software Test Engineer AppSense Make the most of the opportunities provided by the university (like this one!) to network and speak to people in industry and if possible and perhaps most importantly, try and get out into the industry via placements (doesn t have to be a full year, even a few months over summer can be really helpful). You get to try out the type of work you think you might want to do and find out if it s right for you and it helps your career prospects after finishing your degree. Software Tester, AppSense Graduated with BSc(Hons) Computer Science Placement year, Morgan Stanley in Canary Wharf Placement at AppSense in Warrington
Faruk Roshid BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Virtual Security Systems Engineer Cisco Systems With each facet of life, whether career, educational or personal; comes with its own high and low points, don t be fazed by these, just learn from both experiences. Disrupt yourself from time to time by moving into more challenging roles, that way the excitement of developing will always be there. July 2015 Joined the Global Virtual Engineering organisation within Cisco as a Security Specialist July 2014 Joined Cisco on their CSAP Graduate program 2012 Completed full year Internship - Data Analyst, Techdata 2013 Graduated with a BSc(Hons) with Industrial Experience 2013 Started my own small computer business and managed a stocks portfolio Michael Pearce BSc(Hons) Computer Science 2013 Web & IT Developer Co-operatives UK Go out and get experience, or more importantly practice. Even if that means personal projects, or volunteering locally before you are qualified/ready to start work. Show, don t tell - and don t wait forever until you feel ready! Lots of Web Development - php, APEX, Linux, SOQL Lots of IT Development - Infrastructure, networking, telecoms, maintenance, procedures etc. Started as Web & IT Developer, Co-operatives UK Summer job as Project Administrator at RB - referred by jiujitsu training partner met at Manchester Practiced web developement in spare time during studies After graduation got job as Training Co-ordinator for SAP & IS via Linkedin
David Glover BSc(Hons) Computing Science 2007 Technical Product Manager BBC Never be afraid to ask questions. It doesn t make you sound stupid to not know something, it makes you sound smart enough to understand what you don t know. None of us know everything and it can sometimes take a lot of guts to say I don t know rather than trying to make up an answer, but people will respect your honesty and listen more when you do have something to say. Last year moved to the BBC to be their Product Manager for Content Syndication Helped that company grow to become the largest provider of online payment services to the media industry in the UK and abroad Started as a junior developer at a small bespoke development company Over time started to do less programming and more speaking to the clients, which turned into being their Product Manager Zac Hamid BSc Computer Science and Mathematics 2015 Graduate Software Developer IBM There is no substitute for passion. If an employer knows you are passionate, they know that you will give 100%. The real challenge is showing them that you are. 2015 Graduate Software Developer, IBM 2015 Graduated with BSc(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics 2011 Volunteered as an assistant in my school s IT department 2012 Employed as a HORNet Representative at the University of Manchester 2013 Started Year Long Placement at IBM 2014 PASS Leader and Student Ambassador at the School of Computer Science
Martyn Jacques Computer Science Software Engineer IBM Get as much relevant experience as you can, whether it s volunteering, an internship or even your own personal project. Having as many talking points on your CV as possible is crucial. Software Engineer placement, IBM IT intern, Nanoco Technologies Started studying Computer Science at The University of Manchester Volunteered as Computer Science student representative Notes
The University of Manchester Alumni Association Careers Service: www.careers.manchester.ac.uk Open Times: Monday Friday 9am 5pm General enquiries: +44 (0)161 275 2828 Student and graduate information and guidance enquiries: +44(0)161 275 2829 The Atrium, 1st floor University Place, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Further Advice Whatever stage you are at in your career planning, hopefully this event will have inspired you to take the next steps with confidence. There is a huge network of support for you at The University of Manchester so take advantage of it while you are here. You can benefit from a wide range of services such as: Help finding internships/work experience CV/covering letter writing guides and workshops Company profiles and testimonials Guidance services Appointments with careers consultants Mentoring schemes Practice interviews/practice psychometric tests Paid work vacancies
Feedback Questionnaire Thank you for taking the time to fill out this short questionnaire. Your comments will help us to improve our events to meet your needs more closely and we may use them anonymously to promote future events. Student no. I am in: Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 PG Recent graduate 2. Please rate how strongly you agree with the following statements: i) My confidence has increased in networking with professionals Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Agree Agree ii) I feel motivated to take action regarding my career (Seek careers advice, update CV, source internship etc.) iii) A good range of careers were represented iv) I learnt about careers that I didn t know were an option for me v) Talking to alumni was beneficial vi) I enjoyed the event vii) I would recommend this event to others 4. What was the best thing about the event? 5. What was the most useful piece of advice or information you received today? 6. What will you do now as a result of attending this event? Please tick all that apply Check for part time vacancies or internships Update / Write my CV Research into specific career Book a practice interview Find a mentor Book an appointment with a careers consultant Create a portfolio/document experience examples Create/Update LinkedIn profile 7. Was there anything you didn t like, or felt could be improved 8. Any additional comments: (please use overleaf if required)