Software Engineering Guide

Diversity Programs in Tech

There are many conferences and internship opportunities for students who identify within groups that are historically underrepresented in Tech.

At conferences, students can attend talks by inspiring keynote speakers, hone their skills at workshops, and engage with recruiters at career fairs. Students may even get the chance to interview for summer internships at these conferences. Harvard’s Computer Science division offers students the opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, which serves to empower women in computer science, and the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing. If your application is selected, HCS pays for the flight, room, and registration fees. Typically the application deadline is in May, and the link is posted on the Harvard CS Piazza board, which can be found at https://harvardcs.info/.

Due to coronavirus, Grace Hopper and Tapia 2020 will be virtual. If you are unable to get Harvard funding, these conferences also offer outside scholarships and funding.

“I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to attend Grace Hopper my sophomore fall, as it was how I eventually got my summer internship. At Grace Hopper’s Career Fair, I connected with a recruiter, who gave me the application for the company’s leadership summit. After attending, I was given the chance to interview for their summer internship. The career fair is huge, populated with huge tech companies as well as smaller startups. It’s a really great place to connect with recruiters and explore options that you might have never known are out there! Beyond the career fair, I really enjoyed getting to attend the conference with fellow Harvard Women in CS who became mentors and friends!”

- Harvard Class of 2022, attended Grace Hopper Celebration

Big tech firms, such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, offer unique internship positions for minority students, which you can find online.

“Facebook University (FBU) is an eight-week internship program for students from underrepresented communities. Although I went to the engineering program, there're also programs for analytics, product design, operations, and sales/advertising. Because the program accepts first years, you don't need as much experience with CS as most other internships but you should be able to show a strong interest in it.”

- FBU Intern and returning Software Engineering Intern, Harvard Class of 2022

Tech Recruiting at Harvard

There are many opportunities on campus to engage with campus recruiters! Here is a general overview of how to navigate this process.

Career Fairs

Harvard and MIT’s career fairs are great for gaining exposure to different tech companies. The Business and Technology fair at Harvard occurs early September, so be prepared to start recruiting right when you get back to campus. Bring multiple copies of your resume to hand out to recruiters and company representatives. Come prepared with questions to ask them to learn more about their company, work life, and culture. At the end of the conversation, make sure to get their contact information and follow up with them after the event!

Recruiting Events

Numerous companies will come to Harvard to host information sessions, usually at The Charles Hotel or the Sheraton Commander. You can look at the OCS calendar to see when firms come to campus. Usually it is in the late fall/early spring. This is your chance to learn more about the company, meet some people who work there, and ask any questions you may have about the firm or recruiting process. Make sure to try to have a few conversations with a handful of people so you can follow up as the recruiting process progresses. Most importantly, send thank you emails to people you meet.

Applications

Students can apply for tech roles through Crimson Careers, company websites, and referrals from Harvard students who have worked at particular firms. It is common to get internships outside of Harvard’s network, so don’t think that you are limited to companies that have a booth at career fairs or post on Crimson Careers.

Here are some helpful tips from Harvard students who have been through the process regarding tech recruiting specifically at Harvard. A common theme we found is that the most helpful resources are your upperclassmen friends. Be sure to reach out as they are all super willing to help!

Take advantage of company events

“There are a lot of tech recruiting events at Harvard that are heavily publicized over house / first-year dorm mailing lists, along with club mailing lists. I would say that HCS and WiCS mailing lists provide the most opportunities of tech recruiting events on campus, so I would recommend subscribing to those lists. A tech recruiting event is usually organized by a single company, and can take the form of information sessions, mixers, game nights, etc. Usually these events are a great chance to learn about a company, their internship/full-time positions, and also chat with recruiters. I wouldn't say there's a pressure to go to all of them, and people can definitely get interviews without going to that company's specific event. However, it can be a good chance to learn about a tool or a company's culture, and some companies do keep track of who attends for future reference when their applications open.”

- Software Engineer Intern at Dropbox, Harvard Class of 2021

Utilize Harvard's Career Services

“OCS offers many great resources. For one, their career fairs and OCI (on-campus interview) program present many opportunities to network with representatives from various companies you may be interested in. The OCS staff is also incredibly helpful when it comes to resume reviews, and helping answer your individual questions.

Keith Karasek, the SEAS Director of Experiential and Career Development, sends a weekly newsletter listing endless opportunities in the community; if you aren't subscribed already, definitely reach out to him! He also often has availability for students to sign up to meet with him and seek individual advising in the career search, which can be extremely helpful. Even if he doesn't have the answers, he will definitely be able to put you in touch with someone who does!"

- Software Engineer at Microsoft, Harvard Class of 2020

Explore online and through LinkedIn

“I relied mostly on applying online, although there are definitely information sessions you can go to in order to ask specific questions and to get to know the recruiter. Cold emailing works more than you might expect! I have friends who found jobs by directly contacting recruiters on LinkedIn.”

- Software Development Intern at Amazon, Harvard Class of 2021

“Getting referrals is extremely helpful when it comes to getting your foot in the door! If you don't know anyone who's personally worked at your companies of interest, don't be afraid to reach out to mentors in your communities and leverage LinkedIn to seek them out.”

- Software Engineer at Microsoft, Harvard Class of 2020

Software Engineering or Product Management?

Product Managers and Software Engineers work together within the tech industry, drawing upon their different skill sets and expertise to develop and deploy solutions to their customers. If you are torn between whether or not PM or SWE is for you, here are some perspectives from Harvard students that might help you identify your interests.

If you enjoy building and coding...

“I think software engineers can come from a lot of different backgrounds, but most people interested in SWE really share a love for building, and also enjoy coding -- although not necessarily 24/7. A love for building can be shown in many ways -- from logic to math to constructing things from the ground up, and one software engineer might not have absolutely all of these passions.”

- Software Engineering Intern at Dropbox, Harvard Class of 2021

If you like solving at a higher level, rather than implementing its development…

“For anyone torn between PM vs SWE, I would say that the PM role might be the better choice if you are more invested in thinking of a solution at a higher level than just its technical development. Do you find it more satisfying to think of a product in every scope such as its impact in the market, development timeline, design features, and costs and tradeoffs? Or would you rather hone in on a specific part of a solution and find greater enjoyment in writing code and working more directly toward a product's development?”

- PM at Microsoft, Harvard Class of 2021

“Every company has different needs for PMs, and even teams within companies have different PM/SWE dynamics. But in general, I'd say 3 qualities generally are important for PM success -- 1) stakeholder empathy (can you really put the client's internal team's/customer's needs first, and understand them well?), 2) cross-functional communication skills (talking to biz, SWEs, UI/UX, hardware, etc. well, even if what you're discussing is not in their field) and 3) proactivity. I chose the PM route personally because from a personal perspective, I find cross-functional communication and the ambiguity of navigating product-related questions really fulfilling. I think this is a pretty common reason for choosing PM over SWE."

- APM at Lyft, Harvard Class of 2020

If you can, try both!

“The best way to figure this out is to try both out. Honestly, I think it's a great use of summers to do varying things if possible (i.e. SWE one summer, pm another, do a startup, join a big company).”

- Intern at multiple startups, Harvard Class of 2021

“If you start as early as freshman summer or even sophomore summer, it can't hurt to try out both. It's basically the only time that you can experiment without affecting your future career path. If that's not an option, or you don't want to "waste" a summer figuring things out, the common tactic is to just go with SWE first. Most CS concentrators end up there, and there are a lot more job opportunities available for that role. If you can see yourself doing that for at least five years after graduation, that's a good sign that you're made for SWE. If you find the work monotonous, or you feel like you want to work on slightly less technical work/want to interact with people more, then PM is more made for you.”