Author(s): Anuar

Last updated of: 28 July 2020

What to do?

So the first question that may arise when you want to get into the company is: "How to increase my odds?". Here I have compiled a list of activities that will increase your odds in one way or another.

Networking

There is a reason I have listed networking first. The premise that only hard work is going to guarantee you success is only a half-truth. As in real life when it is easier to get new friends via friends, it is also easier to get good opportunities in the tech industry if a lot of people know you.

If you are seeking for a job, your friends/acquaintances who work at companies can refer you to their HRs, who definitely are going to review your application more attentively. Referrals are a win-win strategy for everyone involved and for sure a huge advantage especially if the company is big like Google or Facebook, which gets a tremendous number of applications every year.

Although it is rumored that engineering jobs are for people who don't like to talk, I assure you that it is not the case. Communication is one of the most important skills at work. Therefore I think that you should go out and meet people in order to develop this skill and grow your network, in order to be successful.

I have also attached some referral contacts at the end of the page, so check it out!

Projects

A good way to show that you have the skills required for the job is to do projects. And in my opinion, doing projects is the most fun way to grow professionally! You and only you decide what you want to do for a project and it is very exciting to build something by yourself. It doesn't need to be something extraordinary or original, what matters is your enjoyment out of the process.

Projects are also an excellent opportunity to put your skills under a test. I have learned many software engineering concepts while doing my projects, as I had to go through the complete lifecycle of the development - from the system design to deployment. I have to say that it is also satisfying to apply your theoretical knowledge gained from CS classes for implementing a useful software app.

Open source contributions

Have you ever thought that you need some not implemented feature in the software that you are using? In the case of open-source software (OSS), you can actually directly participate in the development of the product. Literally, anyone can leave a mark on well-renowned projects, and it will be shown to everyone that you have made a contribution.

Although it might look intimidating at first, the open-source community is very welcoming and always accept new members. You can start out your journey with a thing as simple as updating documentation and slowly get hang of the process.

There is even a student program - Google Summer of Code (GSoC) which is in a couple of words is an internship for an open-source project. It is a great opportunity to both have an internship and contribute to some cool projects.

Research

It is no surprise that KAIST has a lot of research opportunities, even for undergraduate students. The quality of research produced here is top-notch and who knows maybe the lab that you will join, may produce some cutting edge technology or release a great paper. Besides if you establish good communication with professors, they can be excellent mentors.

Participation in events

Hackathons and workshops provide excellent opportunities to network and do some cool projects. Usually, hackathons last 1-2 days and during this timespan, you and your team have to develop some application that adheres to the theme of the competition. Hackathons provide a lot of resources to their participants starting from food to hardware for your projects. Companies as well are interested in hackathons and may come as speakers/mentors to these events.

It's a bit hard to tell what kind of amazing experience the hackathons are so I think it's better to view past hackathons to get a grasp of them.

Useful resources

Referral contacts from KAIST alumni - Contacts of KAIST alumni who can refer to jobs. (Tho it has to be updated)

• Major League Hacking (MLH) - Official student hackathon league and community which empowers students around the world.
• How to Contribute to Open Source - A guide to making open source contributions, for first-timers and for veterans.
• How to land a top-notch tech internship/job - A pretty good article which goes over some of the aspects of this page.