At a recent Alumni in Conversation panel, Katharine Celentano ‘16GS (Senior Software Engineer at Netflix) and Conor Sweeney ‘16GS (Founder and CTO of Ivy Software Education)shared personal experiences and earnest advice about pursuing successful careers in the tech industry.
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A key idea brought up by both alumni was the importance of kickstarting your career in tech as early as possible in order to be distinguishable within the competitive field.
Sweeney, a self-taught programmer, emphasized having an enterprising, autodidactic approach for students without traditional computer science degrees. He suggested reaching out to non-profits and offering to develop applications for them as a strategy to make up for the “lack of experience” by highlighting real work experience despite a different educational background.
On the other hand, Celentano’s advice for those with a computer science degree was to not wait for the perfect resume. She urged students to not delay their job search while waiting for the perfect qualifications and to “just dive in, get it going”.
The Power of Persistence
Both alumni stressed on being resourceful and persistent to secure a job in tech.
Celentano, a big advocate of the “network first job search” approach, recommended prioritizing building relationships within the industry rather than purely for a transactional referral purpose. She also noted the importance of a tenacious job application approach, encouraging students to not “count themselves out,” sharing how she once received a job offer from a company that had initially rejected her, explaining that she “kept knocking down that door.”
Sweeney similarly discussed his own story of determination: while working at Amazon, he sensed a gap in his holistic knowledge of software engineering, programming, and computer science. But instead of ignoring it, Sweeney chose to bridge it. “I went back to school in order to fill in that gap”. In doing so, he ultimately received a master’s degree from Columbia in computer science, highlighting the power of taking initiative.
Showcase Your Skills
Both alumni spoke about going beyond simply learning the technical skills to truly market yourself to tech companies and employers.
Celentano spoke of how she integrated skills from her acting background into the tech space to empower herself during interviews; building confidence before an interview by reminding herself “I am the most qualified candidate. And my gosh, are they lucky to be talking to me right now.” A perfect example of how believing in yourself helps others believe in you too.
Showcasing his skills and passion, despite frustrating rejections early in his career, proved to be successful for Sweeney. He innovatively created an app-version of his resume to send to an employee at Google who called it “the googliest thing [he’s] ever been sent”. As a result, Sweeney was given “a shot” just a few months into his programming journey.
Overall, both Celentano and Sweeney emphasised how the skills and unconventional pathways they took to GS (and beyond!) aided them in becoming creative and enterprising in the tech field. It may be a highly competitive industry, but as Celentano reminded everyone: “
