Career Building and Arduino

Hey everyone, my name is Keon and I am a grade 12 student. This Saturday, I had the privilege of attending Austin Teshuba’s Think Tank on “UI/UX Design, Software Development and Product Management ” as a part of the Associate National Lead program. As part of this program, aside from building and hosting my own conference, I get to build connections with industry professionals and leaders.

With adulthood just around the corner, landing a job grows increasingly vital. In this week’s Think Tank, Austin provided us with some helpful tips on how to maximize your chances of getting employed, and here are a few he talked about:

1. Make your resume skimmable and unique. Many job recruiters spend only up to 10 seconds looking over your resume, so make it concise and to the point, preferably only 1 page long. This might mean that you are going to have to cut out a sizeable portion of the information from your resumes, but that’s okay! Your resume should be tailored to the job family that you are applying for. Highlight the skills & experiences relevant to the job.

2. Content and resources. When building your resume, focus on the impact your experiences had, relate them to your skills, and use metrics to quantify your accomplishments. There is no shame in using online tools such as Novoresume.com to help make a resume. However, avoid making a super creative resume using these tools as some ATS’ might not be able to parse it.

3. Interview tips & tricks. Researching and getting to know the company prior to your interview will set you apart from other candidates. Prepare answers to generally asked questions such as “Tell me about yourself”. Make sure to keep eye contact with your interviewer, and send a ‘thank you’ email at the end of your interview — not every firm cares that you do, but it won’t hurt you if you do!

4. Networking. Connections can be a make or break when it comes to securing a job. The most surefire way to build connections is to meet new people. Attend career fairs, hackathons, and other networking events to build rapport. Make sure to stay in touch with your connections via LinkedIn, email, or otherwise. Your peers now are your connections later.

In addition to all the career-building skills Austin touched on, he also gave us an insight into his experience as a software programmer; Austin introduced us to the world of Arduino and gave us a lesson on C++ — a language used for coding Arduino devices.

I found this part of the Think Tank the most fun because it brought back nostalgia for me. Several years ago I designed an Arduino device to create a Bluetooth Proximity Sensor, but haven’t touched software design since. I am so glad Austin resurfaced the memories I built all those years ago.

By the end of Think Tank, I came out of it with a heightened sense of understanding of the world of employment and given a little taste of what software programming, UI/UX design, and project managing are like. There was a lot to take away from, and I am excited to apply what I learned to my future endeavours!