These past few days have been quite the recruiting experience. Usually, whenever I think about recruiting, my mind does a double take because of the mixed feelings I have about the whole process - spending days upon days perfecting a resume, reading and writing dozens of emails to various companies, and receiving the sad but real amount of rejections post first-round interview all the way till final interview. Basically, a roller coaster of emotions (definitely a lot of good times though).

But this semester has become a bit different (at least for me). As I shared in my previous post on vision (not for computers, but for life), I feel like I have changed perspective over how I go about finding an internship, and later a job - I have applied a greater amount of intentionality towards the process of applying to companies.

I remember how initially, I would always scramble through the career fair or a database of companies (like this one), dolling out my resumes to recruiters like lollipops to children in the hope that one of them would give me an internship, IF not at least an interview (and some oh so lovely swag - shoutout to all dem companies with fidget spinners this year).

Now, though, I am a bit more wary with how I hand out my slices of inked trees about my life to others. Not because it's hard for me to find a technological machine that can produce paper with my track record as a programmer. But more because I'm taking more care in finding a company that fits in line with my vision.

Of course, I don't always stay in line with what I want to live out. In fact, before the semester started, I "accidentally" applied to over 10 companies. I realized my mistake after I received several coding challenges (which are stilled queued to be finished) and flopped after taking a phone interview with <some company>. I got wrecked because I haven't touched anything outside of web development for 3 months (not including JavaScript) and I was way-past bicycle rusty in my data structures/algorithms fundamentals. So you could say I was in a bit of a doozy those few weeks.

Besides that, though, it's been good, especially since I've hashed out a rough draft of my vision.

My strategy for recruiting this year isn't to take a packet of internship applications and throw them out into a field of companies all across the states, hoping that one of them will grow.

Instead, I am researching into the soil these companies dwell in - the foundation/mission over why they do what they do (core values), the company culture (diverse, open, employee size), and their specialization (software, hardware, etc...), as well as many other small things - in order to find a few patches of rich ground that I can plant my coding roots into.

The hope is not to leech off the nutrients the company will have to offer like a weed (if I do get an internship), but rather to further enrich the company's soil for future interns/employees as I myself grow into a plant that may bear much fruit that others can witness and experience - not only for just one season but hopefully for decades to come.

Who knows what I'll find this coming semester/year. Maybe I'll get an internship, or maybe I'll end up starting a company (the dream). I believe, though, that as long as I hold true to what I am looking for and don't wander from what I've set my eyes on, I know that I'll find some sort of satisfaction through it all - worst case, a story for others to enjoy. :)

Anyways, I wish everyone good luck in their recruiting process! Whether it's your first time, or your twentieth time putting yourself out there to companies, my hope is that you will continue to grow in your experiences and do your best to get that internship or job! (fighting!!!) And if not, well hopefully it'll be a story you can learn from and be etched into the book of your life.

Peace!

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"Through a long and painful process, I've learned that happiness is an inside job - not based on anything or anyone in the outer material world. I've become a different and better person - not perfect, but still a work in progress."
- Alana Stewart


The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of UT Computer Science, The University of Texas or any employee thereof.