Career Preparation

(for CS/CSE/HCID Majors)

list Preamble

info Description

Career Preparation helps students explore the most common career and graduate school options for cs/cse/hcid majors. Job seekers learn how to locate the most appropriate entry-level jobs in the tech sector, while students wishing to pursue graduate studies understand how to find the best fit at the research, academics, faculty, and scholarship levels. Students also learn to prepare a polished résumé or cv, establish a professional online presence, and develop best interviewing practices — for the tech sector and academic institutions. Additionally, students learn — with the support of Career Services — how to use job-searching tools, such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. We’ll also discuss how to network with others and how to obtain internships.

list Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand...

calendar_month Schedule

Important Notes

Career Studio is holding multiple important events between Jan – April. You’ll be able to take a professional headshot to use in your employment social media accounts, get help with your résumé/cover letters, and even attend a mock interview. All events are announced on their online event calendar.

Notable Dates

Career Prep-Specific Notable Dates

Week Topics Homework
One We do not meet in this first week of classes, because the week starts on a Wednesday, but you do have an assignment. Visit the Career Studio event calendar and register to take a headshot, attend a résumé boot camp, and participate in a a mock interview.
Two
  • Course breakdown.
  • Individual introductions.
  • GitHub intro.
  • Open a GitHub account.
  • Reply to the Microsoft Group thread requesting your GitHub username.
  • Create a private GitHub repo called career-prep and add me (code-warrior) as a collaborator.
Three
  • Self-assessment (“Am I studying what I want to study, or what someone else wants? Shall I pivot towards a different career path than my major? What job will make me happy?”).
  • Skills assessment (“What am I good at? Do my grades reflect this?”).
  • Past work experience (“Have my last jobs been simply rote-type jobs about which I don’t care? Is there anything about my past jobs that really excite me?”).
  • In a basic text file, compile all the items that will be required for your résumé/cv, such as name, contact info, your willingness to relocate, school info, GPA (if it’s above 3.0), etc.
  • Name the file resume-content if you’re a job seeker, cv-content if you’re looking to go to grad school.
  • Add the file to your career-prep GitHub repo.
Four
  • Getting organized
    • Have unofficial transcripts at the ready.
    • Have at least two official transcripts mailed to you, but don’t open them.
    • Create a digital calendar that syncs with your computer.
  • Take the 60-question interest profiler at O*Net (Occupational Information Network) Interest Profiler.
  • Visit O*Net and do an “Occupational Search” for the work you’d like to do.
  • Also visit The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook and search for your occupation.
  • Create the first draft of your résumé/cv, formatted for 8 ½" × 11" paper, and upload it to your private repo. Prepare to share with us all during next week’s class.
Five
  • First round of résumé/cv critiques, or crits.
  • Letters of recommendation
    • Requesting letters of recommendation; ask for strong letters of recommendations; ensure you know your recommender(s) well.
    • Secure at least 2 recommenders for a job search, 3 for graduate school.
Six
  • Second round of résumé crits.
  • Using Git to revision control your résumé and cover letters.
  • Attend Career Readiness Academy ⎨career studio⎬
  • Using Microsoft Word, prepare a list of all past jobs.
  • Gauge the technical skills you’ve acquired at school or learned on your own, then, also using Microsoft Word, prepare a separate list of those skills.
Seven
  • Preparing cover letters as sections.
  • Preparing personal statements as sections.
  • Putting cover letters/personal statements under Git control.
  • Have second draft of résumé/cv ready to share for next week’s class.
  • Preparing content for job-related media profiles.
Eight
  • Preparing LinkedIn profiles and networking with classmates.
  • Using pictures that observe a high face-ism ratio.
  • Take a set of pictures for your LinkedIn/Glassdoor/Indeed/GitHub profiles. Consider having a friend take the pictures.
 Polish up your GitHub profile and the code hosted there.
Nine
  • Spring recess.
 None
Ten
  • Understanding salaries.
  • Mapping your salary to your gpa.
 Have third draft of résumé/cv ready to share for next week’s class.
Eleven Calculating salaries for working in the private sector as a full-time employee or a contractor. Prepare deliverables for next week: Update résumé/cv, per feedback; create a cover letter/personal statement; and, finish LinkedIn profile, complete with a profile picture.
Twelve Polish LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed accounts. Research backup/redundancy options, like Time Machine, File History, and Backblaze, to ensure your data, including all the deliverables for this course, are never lost.
Thirteen The importance of backing up your work and keeping detailed notes about your job search. Put professional headshots on LinkedIn, Indeed, and even GitHub.
Fourteen Job searching advice. Have last draft of résumé/cv ready to share for next week’s class.
Fifteen Final crit of deliverables; Q&A. Put finishing touches on all deliverables for our last class.
Sixteen Evaluations and closing notes. Submit deliverables: a final résumé/cv, cover letter/personal statement, LinkedIn profile, GitHub profile, and a post-graduation action plan.

info Homework

There is no grade for this course; it’s pass/fail. In order to pass, students must meet all three of the following criteria:

  1. Participate in the course. This means attend every lecture.
  2. Attend the Career Readiness Academy event on 12 March 2025.
  3. Complete a résumé (for employment) or cv (for graduate school); a cover letter (for employment) or personal statement (for graduate school); and, establish a post-graduation action plan.

balance Class Policies

psychology No AI Use in Class

The use of generative ai tools is strictly forbidden in this course. All programming assignments — and any labs — associated with this course must be completed without the assistance of ai-generated content. This policy is in place to ensure that the work submitted is authentically yours and reflects your personal understanding and capabilities. Violations of this policy will be considered academic dishonesty and will be subject to disciplinary actions as outlined in the university’s academic honesty policy.

accessible Students with Disabilities

If you have a documented disability for which you are requesting accommodation, you are encouraged to contact Access-Ability Services as soon as possible by calling 860.768.4312, emailing tlopez@hartford.edu, or by stopping by the Access-Ability Services office in Auerbach Hall, Room 209. If your request for accommodations is approved, an accommodation letter will be emailed to your instructor(s) upon your request. Please discuss your accommodations with the instructor as soon as possible to make appropriate arrangements. Note: Student requests for accommodations must be filed each semester. Visit https://www.hartford.edu/academics/academic-support/accessibility-services/ and click the “Registering” link for more info and a link to a video that walks you through the process.

balance Title IX and Sexual Assault

Sexual violence and other forms of sexual misconduct and harassment, including stalking and intimate partner violence, are prohibited under Title ix, federal and state law, and University of Hartford policy. Information on the University’s policies against sexual violence can be found at https://www.hartford.edu/about/policies/title-ix/. Resources regarding sexual violence can be found at https://www.hartford.edu/about/policies/title-ix/on-off-campus-resources.aspx

Note: University of Hartford faculty, staff, and ras are required to report incidents of sexual misconduct to the Title ix Office (title9@hartford.edu). For further information on The University’s policies and resources, please contact Jason Martinez (860.768.5255; jamartine@hartford.edu) or Justin Bell (860.768.4880; jbell@hartford.edu).

psychology Mental Health and Well-Being

Mental Health is an important aspect of students’ well-being and integral to positive academic experiences and success. If, during the semester, you experience difficulties and would like support, consider contacting the University of Hartford’s caps, or Counseling and Psychological Services, which offers a range of short-term counseling services available to full-time undergraduate students at no additional cost, and to part-time undergraduate and graduate students for a small fee.

caps is located in Gengras Student Union, Room 313 map, and can be reached by calling 860.768.4482 or emailing Liz Inkel at inkel@hartford.edu. Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM.

door_front Office Hours

I meet students in my office by appt — via Compass — at the times noted below. (Meeting via videoconference is also an option.) If this time slot isn’t feasible, contact me to make an appt — vanegas@hartford.edu.

contact_mail Contact

Nowadays, I only use email for emergency situations, such as a pet emergencies, personal tragedies, etc. For matters related to our course, you’re advised to see me before or after class, during my office hours, or by appointment. My contact info is listed in the Preamble.