Career Opportunities Masters Level

1. Career Opportunities Masters Level Maria Hristova, Microsoft Rebecca Schultz, Google

2. Agenda • Introductions: Microsoft and Google • What is the one thing you want to know at the end of this session? • Managing the transition from student to intern or full-time employee • Key skills for women in technology • Career opportunities

3. Maria HristovaBackground/Bio • Originally from Bulgaria • Always passionate about technology and role models • Undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College, class of 2002 • Double major in CS and Math • Passionate baker, casual gamer, documentary super fan

4. Maria HristovaCareer Path • Before MS my only experience was academic research and teaching • Started at Microsoft in August, 2002 as: • STE at Windows SharePoint Services • SDET at Windows SharePoint Services • SDET Lead at Exchange Hosted Services • Products impacted: • Office 2003 • Windows Vista • Exchange Hosted Services

5. Rebecca SchultzBackground/Bio • BS, Computer Engineering from Brown University, 2002 • MS, Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, 2004 • Spent one year at Stanford researching supercomputer architectures • Joined Google in September, 2005 • In my free time? Rock climbing, studying aikido

6. Rebecca SchultzCareer Path • Performance Engineer in Google’s Platforms Group • 5 internships • Lucent • Microsoft (twice) • Network Appliance • NVIDIA

7. Crucial Competencies:Transition from Student to Employee • Technical accuracy • strive for accurate, detailed work • Develop a broad perspective • think of the work you are doing in relationship to what others are doing • think of how your work will achieve the broader goals of the organization • Discipline • exercise restraint and make informed choices about what you are willing to participate in, own, or drive to completion • strive to meet deadlines (under-promise and over-deliver) • see your responsibility through the end • Demonstrate initiative • ask questions and communicate frequently with your manager • be creative and share your passion with others through action • Hone your communication skills • especially as they relate to theexpectations of your manager • develop the ability to give an ‘elevator pitch’ at any time

8. What can I do in industry? • Development Engineer • Software Developer in Test • Test Engineer • Program Manager • User Interface Designer • Product Manager • Lead and/or Manager of any discipline • Researcher (PhD required)

9. Finding Industry Jobs • Identify organizations of interest and do internships – real world and specific organization experience is valued • Know what positions are within your scope and focus on the right type of position for you • Plug into on-campus recruiting at your school • Apply through formal methods, but try to make contact with people who will get your resume into the right hands • Conferences, conferences, conferences – employers attend conferences specifically to find you • Network with friends, colleagues, and friends of friends to make contacts and get a foot in the door • Consider startup organizations – higher risk, but greater potential for increasing the scope of your responsibilities • Demonstrate good communication skills in addition to technical savvy • Ask for what you want!

10. Preparing for an Interview • Read up • Research the organization to understand their business and see if their goals are in line with yours • Use that social network! • Talk to women who are currently working for the organization • Know thyself • Self-assess to determine what you ‘must have’ to be satisfied in a new role • Practice makes perfect • Role play with colleagues to strengthen your interviewing skills and identify areas for development

11. The Interview • Demonstrate your passion for technology! • Remember: it’s about how you approach a problem, rather than having the right answer • Inquire about the number of women on the team, in the organization, and at the management level • Ask purposeful questions: • Evaluate the organization as much as they are evaluating you – can you see yourself working there? • Get all the information you need to make a decision if you get an offer • Probe any areas of ambiguity or confusion

12. What can I do now? • Find a mentor • Provides a useful perspective • Complete a project • Will make you a more interesting candidate • Get an internship • Try out a corporate culture, job type, industry

13. Find a Mentor Old Rule Mentors and protégés should have a lot in common New Rule The best matches are mismatches, pair with someone who will challenge you • Ask about mentoring programs within your organization – everyone needs mentors throughout the life of their career, not just at the beginning

14. Complete a Project • Publications, Posters, Projects • Create a track record • Interviewers will look for completed projects • Research a topic and write a white paper or create a poster for an upcoming conference • Create a website listing your projects, publications, and CV/resume – recruiters use search engines

15. Get an Internship • Use university recruiting contacts, job fairs, advisors, or professors • Start looking early—most positions are filled by December • Think about filling every summer—some companies will take sophomores • Take a summer or campus job doing related at a local company • Rewards: You get to try out the corporate culture, find potential mentors, and see if the industry is right for you.

16. Key Skills - Build a Social Network • Develop networks outside your immediate workgroup (cross-group collaboration) • Create relationships with people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise (broad perspective) • Learn how to engage others to build connections and identify similar interests • Join professional organizations and attend conferences

17. Key Skills - Learn to Negotiate • Women at all levels have been shown to receive lower salaries than their male counterparts • Perceived differences in skill level between men and women do not always translate into actual disparities of abilities • women's self-assessed skill is significantly lower than that of men • Do research, be flexible, be pleasant, aim high, and know how to handle multiple offers with ease • Career satisfaction isn't just about pay – consider what is important to you and ask for it

18. Key Skills - Manage Your Manager Success is significantly determined by one’s immediate supervisor • define clear goals and set expectations of performance • document your joint understanding of goals/metrics • meet regularly and assess progress or priority of projects • adapt your behavior or communication to meet your manager’s expectations

19. Key Skills -Make Yourself Visible • Especially challenging for entry level women • Gain influence even without formal authority

20. Recommended Reading • Social Networks • Uzzi, Brian, and Dunlap, Shannon. “How to Build Your Network.” Harvard Business Review, December 2005 Issue • Mentors and Mentoring • Fast Company looks at mentoring trends in high tech companies: http://www.fastcompany.com/online/17/womentoring.html • Shea, Gordon F. 1999. Making the Most of Being Mentored: How to Grow from a Mentoring Relationship. Crisp Publications • Wellington, Sheila, and Spence, Betty. 2001. Be Your Own Mentor: Strategies from Top Women on the Secrets of Success. Random House • “Mentoring In a Box: Technical Women at Work”, jointly produced by the Anita Borg Institute and the National Center for Women and Technology, available at: http://www.ncwit.org/practices.box.html

21. Recommended Reading (cont’d) • Making yourself Visible • Cohen, Allen and Bradford, David (1991). Influence without Authority. New York, Wiley. • Negotiating • Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender http://www.eszter.com/research/a17-genderskills.html. Wall Street Journal article on the topic: http://www.collegejournal.com/salaryinfo/negotiationtips/20010321-asher.htmlLinda Babcock and Sara Laschever, 2003. • Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide. Princeton University Press.Bazerman, Max H. and Neale, Margaret A. 1992. • Negotiating Rationally. New York: The Free Press.

22. Career Opportunities Thank you for attending!