Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting… 

Tara Strobel

 Currently working on Mid-Tier Development and Testing  BA Computer Science, Minor in MIS, Interactive Media, Business 

Chris Fahey

 Currently working on User Interface Development  BS Computer Science, Minor in MIS, Business Certificate 

Kevin Owocki

 Currently working on Mid-Tier Development  BS Computer Science, Minor in Physics, Philosophy

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

7 Most Important Points Learned in CIS475

  Application Development Process / Project Lifecycle Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork.

 Project and Time Management  Adaptability to Change  Design Diagrams, Design Models and Documentation  Milestone Presentation Techniques and Etiquette  When interviewing, the stories drawn from CIS475 experiences can demonstrate teamwork, leadership, time management, flexibility, etc.

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Surviving CIS475 : Choosing Your Team and Project

 Diversify the strengths and weaknesses within your team  Documentation    User Interface Mid-Tier Coding Networks (if applicable)   Databases Team Management  Coordinate schedules  Group meetings  SubGroup meetings   Select a project that interests you and your team Define a reasonable scope for your project as soon as possible  Begin with a narrow scope

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Surviving CIS475 : Working With Your Team

 Maintain an open mind throughout the project lifecycle  Combine individual ideas to form the best solution  Utilize Project Management Tools  CVS   Eclipse or NetBeans Wiki  Do Not delegate one team member to do all of the work  Take advantage of paired programming  Keep your documentation up to date!

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Surviving CIS475 : Managing Your Project

 Use the Application Development Process as a guideline to set milestones for your project   Set aggressive yet realistic goals for your project.

Stick to those dates!

 Update documentation regularly. Make sure that every team member is up to speed  Communication  Wiki   Email / Yahoo Groups Telephone  Create test cases BEFORE you begin coding your project.

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Surviving CIS475 : Dealing with Project Setbacks

 Maintain a positive attitude!

 Meet with Professor Leipold  He is very helpful [we are not just saying this because he is in the room!]  Share your concerns and ask questions  Use Visual Aids  Just remember, setbacks are inevitable. Plan accordingly.

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Surviving CIS475 : Professionalism

 This project mimics IT project development in the real-world and hence it demands professionalism  Email etiquette [especially with Professor Leipold]   Documentation structure, readability, consistency, and accuracy Team relations  Professional Presence in your Presentations  Dress appropriately  Be prepared! Know your slides and practice ahead of time!

  Eye contact: Talk to your audience, not to the projector screen Know your project’s strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to answer questions about them.

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Our Real World Experiences…

 Team Structure  You do not get to pick your team  People transfer and rotate between teams  Design Models and Diagrams, Documentation  The importance of documenting every aspect of IT development  Changing Requirements  Coding in a Team Environment  Working off of other programmers’ code   Agile programming Strict guidelines, timelines, and practices

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Preparing for the Real-World

    Networking  Ask questions, attend career events, contact potential employers   Maintain professional contacts within the university Actively participate in eRecruiting Attend Recruiting Events   Job Jamboree on September 26 th Interviewing (research employer, follow up with them, take initiative!) Prepare Professional Documents  Cover Letter, Resume, Follow-Up letter, Writing/Coding Sample, etc.

Start Early!

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Advice from Us

 Prepare interview “stories” to back up your strengths. Use your experiences from CIS475!

 30 Second Commercial  Know what you want to do  If you don’t, cater your career goals towards the interviewer. You are interviewing with that Company for a reason!

 Speak with Professors, Advisors, Mentors about potential career opportunities  Enjoy your senior year!

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Vanguard

• No-load mutual fund company.

• Serves individual shareholders and institutional clients.

• Established in 1975.

• Owned by fund shareholders, not by outside stockholders.

• Over 11,000 crew members in three U.S. sites – PA, NC, AZ.

• International operations in Europe, Japan, and Australia.

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Preparing for Life After College

Nine months and counting…

Questions?

Mary Ann Fornarol:

[email protected]

Chris Fahey:

[email protected]

Kevin Owocki:

[email protected]

Tara Strobel:

[email protected]

Professional Presence

Attitude and behaviors

• How am I appearing to others?

• How do I approach coming to work each day?

• What impressions might others have of me when they see me during the business day?

• What do my facial expressions say to others when I am faced with an unfamiliar situation? • What impressions do people have of me as a positive (or negative) person?

> 15 For internal use only

Negative impact on professional presence

• Matt always has at least two folders overflowing with information at every meeting he attends. • Arlene notices that Malcolm mispronounces her name — even after 5 weeks of working together.

• Mario frequently sits quietly in meetings, taking notes but not speaking up.

• Over the past few months, Leo’s cell phone has been ringing —even when he is not at his desk. > 16 For internal use only

Etiquette

• Maintain eye contact.

• Avoid interrupting someone.

• Arrive on time. • Respond to telephone calls and e-mails within 24 hours. • Dress professionally.

> 17 For internal use only

Verbal communication

• Understand that tone of voice has more impact than the words. • Keep voice mail messages short.

• Avoid filler words such as “um” or “ah.” • Avoid slang.

• Be cautious of jokes or special lingo.

• Use correct grammar.

> 18 For internal use only