Revised Formal Report Proposal
MEMORANDUM
To: Dr. Erika Paterson
From: Geneviève Bolduc
Date: June 19. 2020
Subject: Increasing Resource Availability in TIP Club
Introduction
The Technical Interview Preparation club (TIP) is a student-led group that meets weekly to build up interview readiness. Currently, the format is weekly video conferencing where students and recent alumni present and solve algorithms that might be asked in interviews by future employers. These questions are pulled from the popular website LeetCode which showcases problems asked by companies including, but not limited to FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google). These employers are at the forefront of software innovation and hire many graduating students every year. Currently, LeetCode is the only source the club is utilizing. However, problem-solving is only one aspect of getting hired. Gayle Laakman McDowell, author of Cracking the Coding Interview, outlines many aspects under review in an interview: analytical skills, coding skills, technical knowledge, experience, and culture fit (Laakman, 4). Currently, the club does not have a body of resources to sharpen all of these skills, nor do the weekly mock interviews necessarily measure for these.
Problem Statement
The Technical Interview Preparation club does not effectively capitalize on its mandate. Student readiness for these challenging interviews should take into account wider skills than algorithm solving. Otherwise, it is likely that students and recent alumni attend interviews with incomplete skillsets and perform poorly in some aspects.
Proposed Solution
The TIP club should build an accessible and shared body of literature that develops the necessary interview skills. Different exercises and resources should be available to practice said skills. There are many examples of what might be added to this package. For instance, technical knowledge often refers to broader questions in computer science, often around design patterns and practices. Common questions like these could be compiled into a unified document. As for experience, resources could be shared on building individual and group projects on a resume. How to get started? What tutorials are useful? As for culture fit, employers could be interviewed for more detailed insight on what they search for as well as sifting through the popular website Glassdoor to consolidate this information. All of these could be collected and archived in a shared folder.
Scope
To assess the feasibility of the proposed solutions, I plan to pursue five areas of inquiry:
- What additional skills would members of the club like to practice?
- What non-algorithm based factors are most important in interviews?
- What are common theory questions asked in interviews?
- Where to get started with extracurricular personal and collective technical projects?
- What are the ideals of company culture at different tech companies, local and international?
Methods
My methods will be a mix of surveying members of the TIP and collecting written data from interviewing resources, company websites, and industry professionals.
My Qualifications
I am a fourth-year computer science student, nearing graduation as well as one of the organizers for the TIP club. I have had multiple technical interviews and have some industry knowledge. I plan to use this to maximize the effectiveness of the club’s mandate.
Audience
The intended audience for this formal report is the leadership and membership of the TIP club. With their efforts, a community resource can be built to address the lacking elements of the club.
Conclusion
There are many ways to succeed in the field of computer science, and those who collectively organize to better their skills should be able to access a large body of helpful resources.
Revised Progress Report with Surveys
MEMORANDUM
To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Professor English Technical Writing UBC
From: Geneviève Bolduc, Student English Technical Writing UBC
Date: July 11, 2020
Subject: Progress Report
In accordance with the requirements of unit 2:3 in the context of the ENGL 301 course, the groundwork for the formal report is well under way. I have outlined the progress of the process below.
Audience: The formal report will be presented to the membership of the Technical Interview Preparation Club after an initial review by the co-founders of the club. There are currently 17 members involved at the time of writing.
Purpose: The purpose of the report is to present recommendations to the membership of the TIP Club based on the data collected regarding the wishes of the membership and the practical tools of interviews collected from industry experts.
Significance: Conducting this research could prevent loss of useful knowledge held by individual members and benefit future interviewees.
Research Plan:
- Distribute surveys to members of the TIP Club
- Conduct an online research of common theory questions asked in technical software development interviews
- Compile company culture documentation of tech companies from company websites, glass door, etc.
- Collect answers to surveys
Writing Schedule:
- Compose surveys and interview questions- July 10, 2020 (Completed)
- Collect documentation about theory questions and company culture – July 15, 2020 (Completed)
- Collect and analyze survey data – July 20, 2020 (Completed)
- Analyse data from surveys and literature – July 20, 2020 (Completed)
- Present recommendations to TIP membership- July 24, 2020 (Completed)
I look forward to your feedback. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Encl. Survey