Tech Leaders, Student Innovators 'Converge' at Silicon Valley Career Fair
By Elizabeth Donaldson
The Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley is home to collections of computing artifacts and histories of technology pioneers. As an innovation landmark and time capsule, the Museum is the perfect location for Converge, an annual career fair where Carnegie Mellon students and alumni explore leadership opportunities at the Valley’s tech companies.
Ford, SAP, Apple, and Roche were among the attending companies as well as several start-ups in automotive, financial services, and real estate innovation. Ida Wang, a Master of Science in Technology Ventures student, spent time researching companies before the event and was interested to learn more about internship opportunities in product management and business development roles.
“It’s definitely been helpful for me to learn what is out there,” says Wang. “I’m not graduating until December 2020, so though my job search isn’t urgent, I don’t want to miss an opportunity to mark my presence in the Valley.”
Master of Science in Software Management student, Joseph Ho (MSSM ’19), had attended Converge last fall, and was eager to return to further his network and learn about full-time positions in the Bay area.
“It was a great opportunity to converse with someone in-person to gain deeper knowledge about their organizations outside of what you can typically find on the web,” says Ho.
Being his second time at the fair, he knew exactly how to prepare for the event: “I narrowed down my target companies and researched their open positions and company information. In my folder, I had my printed resumes—with extras, of course—and notes from the research I had conducted. I actually reconnected with some recruiters that I had worked with in the past and it was really nice to rekindle those relationships.”
At Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, the classroom is much larger than the space on campus—the entire region’s tech ecosystem is a learning environment for curious innovators. The Converge fair is just one of the unique ways that students from Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley can engage and learn from leading technologists.