Welcome to CS 491!

Instructors:

Nancy Amato
Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering and Department Head
Email: namato@illinois.edu

Charity Freeman
Program Coordinator - Department of CS in Chicago
Email: charityf@illinois.edu
_ _ _ _ _

Link to Join Zoom: https://go.cs.illinois.edu/cspd-spr23
Meeting ID: 826 5168 7135
Passcode: 262065

_ _ _ _ _

Schedule of Events & Speakers

Date	Topic	Speaker(s)	Description
5:00pm Thursday Jan 19, 2023	Student Organization Events & Participation Opportunities [Slide Deck]	Nathan Assefa B[U]ILT Adam Stewart CSGSO Deeya Bodas HackIllinois	There are numerous extra-curricular activities and experiences available to students in CS. Opportunities include gaining leadership and professional development experience, being a mentor or mentee, volunteering for a wide range of service projects, and social events to meet new friends and just have fun. In this session, representatives from CS student organizations and other departmental groups will describe events and opportunities for students to get involved this semester. They are excited to share their opportunities with you - please join us and make plans to do something new this semester!
5:00pm Thursday Jan 26, 2023	Resume Building [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Rosie Shen, Engineering Career Services (ECS)	This session will provide an overview of the resources available to students through the Engineering Career Services (ECS) and then will provide dive into details about resumes. Do you wonder what recruiters, research labs, or grad schools are looking for in a resume? What is the difference in a resume and a CV anyway? Should you use the same one for everything? What should and shouldn't be left off? This session will provide answers to these questions and more.
Thursday Feb 2, 2023	- No Seminar -	CS/ECE After Hours (Jan 30) and Engineering Career Fair (Jan 31-Feb 1)	No CS 491 PD presentation is scheduled this week to allow students to attend CS/ECE After Hours and/or Engineering Career Fair. You can receive a CS 491 PD credit by submitting proof of registration for either event and a written summary report. (You can attend as many as you wish, but a maximum of 1 attendance credit can be received).
5:00pm Thursday Feb 9, 2023	Interviewing & Preparation Skills [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Sam Ade Jacobs Microsoft Jory Denny Waymo	You've landed an interview - congrats! But now you're wondering what you can do to prepare. There are many types of interviews - they come at different stages of the recruitment process and are of varying lengths and formats. This session will feature panelists who can share their perspectives and provide insight and advice on what you can expect, how you can prepare, and do's and don'ts of interviewing.
5:00pm Thursday Feb 16, 2023	Career Opportunities with a Graduate Degree [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Sandra Faust Google Brain Reza Farivar Twilio Ran Libeskind-Hadas Claremont McKenna College	You completed your graduate degree - congrats! Now what? Are there opportunities that are open to those with a masters that you cannot do with a bachelors? What about with a PhD? Or, are there fewer options available to you if you have a graduate degree? Does it pay off, financially or otherwise, to invest more time and money for another degree? What is different about job searching when you have a graduate degree? The panelists for this seminar will discuss such questions and will share how they are using their graduate degrees in their careers.
5:00pm Thursday Feb 23, 2023	Alumni Panel - Tips from the Other Side [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	James Commons Yahoo Finance Gautam Kumar Lower.com Akash Mukherjee Jump Trading LLC	This session will feature CS alums who will share their experiences and lessons they have learned along the way. They will provide advice about what you can do while still in school to best prepare for the next stage of your career, what kinds of internships and projects provide the best experiences, and, looking back now, what do they wish they had done when in school but didn't? They'll also share their thoughts about topics such as how important is the first (or second or third...) job, which are the most important criteria to consider when selecting a position, and generally share their tips for success.
5:00pm Thursday Mar 2, 2023	Negotiating Offers [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Cynthia Clarke Thoma Bravo Sachin Suresh FastModel Sports Dr. Nancy Amato UIUC CS	So now you've got an offer from someplace you'd like to work. But you're not sure how to evaluate the offer.... Can, or even should, you ask for more? What is and what isn't negotiable? What should you be asking about that you aren't? Are there any resources to help you determine if the offer is competitive? This session will feature panelists who can share their perspectives and provide insight and advice on what you can expect, how you can prepare, and do's and don'ts of negotiating.
5:30-7:30pm Thursday Mar 9, 2023	*- No Seminar -*	After Hours in Chicago	No CS 491 PD presentation is scheduled this week to allow students to attend CS/ECE After Hours in Chicago. You can receive a CS 491 PD credit by submitting proof of registration for the event and a written summary report.
Thursday March 16, 2023	- No Seminar -		Spring Break
5:00pm Thursday Mar 23, 2023	Startups and Entrepreneurship [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Gautam Kumar Lower.com Bill Dunn Dunn Solutions Group	Do you dream of having your own startup? Are you curious to know what it would be like to work on a startup and wonder what you can do as a student to prepare? This session will feature speakers who can share their experiences, give you tips that they wish someone had shared with them, and answer your questions.
5:00pm Thursday Mar 30, 2023	Tips for Successfully Onboarding your Job or Internship [Video Recording]	David Burns Grammarly Michael Peretz Capital One Alex Sha Bridge Legal	Now you've accepted your offer that great job or internship, and the start date is creeping up on you. What should you do now to ensure you have a smooth start? What can you prepare in advance? What should you do during your first week or two? How about things to watch out for or avoid? What's different when everything is remote? This session will include advice from speakers who can share their experiences and answer these questions and more.
5:00pm Thursday Apr 6, 2023	Career Opportunities Outside Traditional Tech [Video Recording] [Slide Deck]	Kate Milleker Envoy/Leviathan Jayam Shah IMC Financial	Do you wonder what you might do with your computing degree if you don't work in a traditional tech company? Actually, there are a ton of options where you can use your computing skills and have an exciting and fulfilling career. This session will feature panelists who can share their personal perspectives and experiences and provide tips on how to find these non-traditional opportunities, including advice on how to succeed and things to watch out for. Come with questions.
5:00pm Thursday Apr 13, 2023	What's Your Brand? Developing your Professional Persona [Video Recording]	Dr. Ranjitha Kumar UIUC CS Ross Erlebacker Cognizant	This session will address the dos and don'ts of building a professional image. Topics will include using various resources to highlight your brand, auditing your web presence (personal websites and social media), and developing communication and collaboration skills. How should you conduct yourself in the workplace? What image should you project to managers and colleagues? How should you navigate difficult conversations while being respectful of others' cultural differences? Listen as our panelists discuss these common questions and more.
5:00pm Thursday Apr 20, 2023	Equity and Social Justice in Computing [Video Recording]	Dr. Karrie Karahalios UIUC CS Lawrence Humphrey Pearl	Computing is pervasive in all areas of society and impacts virtually every aspect of our lives. As computing professionals, it is imperative that consider this in our work and attempt to understand the broader implications of the systems we design and build. This session will feature panelists who work to promote equity and social justice in computing. They will discuss their work and explain how they came to work in this space. They will provide advice for students, such as how to students can educate themselves about these issues and what they can do as students and in their careers to ensure their work positively impacts society.
5:00pm Thursday Apr 27, 2023	Career Opportunities in Big Tech [Video Recording]	James Commons, Yahoo Paul J. Magelli WISEcode LLC Mike Oltman, Executive Consultant (self-employed)	Many computer scientists spend their entire careers in large tech companies. Do you wonder what it would be like to do that long term? Might you get stuck on a project and have to change companies to stay excited about your work? Or maybe you're concerned that if you stay too long with one company that it would be hard to change later if you'd like to? Are you worried that you would only interact with other computer scientists? Or maybe you're not convinced that it's possible to have a life and also succeed in a place like this. This session will feature speakers who can share their perspectives from the trenches - come with your questions and they will do their best to answer them!