Originally posted on makezine.com

Q: Has your role changed since you’ve been here?
A: I joined the club as a regular member, and was given the role as a webmaster/ historian for the club during my freshman year of college. Since then I ran for Vice President in my junior year, and currently I am the president of the club.

Q: Were you involved in any other organization before joining this one?
A: Yes, I was involved in SHPE – Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, CSUEB student chapter. I heard about IIE through SHPE members

Q: What made you interested in being a part of this specific organization?
A: I became interested in this specific organization because it is more focused on industrial engineering rather than engineering as a whole. They held specific conferences to network with fellow industrial engineers from all around the world

Q: What did you have to do to obtain your position?
A: ·   Hold strategic planning meeting to determine chapter goals, objectives and strategies
·      Create (with input from officers) annual Chapter Plan document and coordinate activities of all other officers
·      Plan and run monthly board meetings
·      Develop, assist, motivate, and recognize all other officers
·      Coordinate election of officers for next year
·     Train President-elect turn over all records and documents
·      Create (with input from Board) annual Chapter Plan document and communicate to board, members, and Region Vice                    President (RVP).
·      Maintain ultimate responsibility for ensuring that all chapter requirements are met and that the      chapter is operated                   according to the specifications of the IIE and chapter
·      Constitution & By-laws Serve as primary point of contact with IIE leadership, Headquarters staff, and all outside companies,           organizations, and individuals.
·      Process mail from Headquarters and forward to appropriate board members
·      Attend Leadership Training either in Region or at annual conference

Q: What is your favorite part of this position?
A: My favorite part of this position is to be able execute ideas and events and make students network and bring themselves out. Students get their future jobs by networking, and knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life by simply assisting them by holding events where they can mingle, learn, and meeting companies feels great!

Q: What attracted you to this role?
A: I ran for president because I noticed the advisors were upset that the previous year the President did not hold any events for this club, which made me want to stand up and take the role and make the department proud! I also took on this role, because taking out time and being involved in an academic based organization conveys leadership in a person’s resume. Companies tend to look for academic involvement.

Q: What kind specific habits and practices do you have? How do you apply them?
A: After every meeting we debrief and log those down for future reference, we call them meeting templates. Also at the end of every meeting I tend to establishing due dates and deadlines, this has become a habit of mine to know what we should focus on for time being and give ourselves a deadline to meet.

Q: What’s the best part of the next thing you’re doing?
A: NETWORKING!! The next event we are holding is a Transitioning to the Professional Environment Panel, where Engineering Alumnus and professionals from AMAZON, UPS, NUDESKINCARE, THERM-X, BENCHMARK ELECTRONICS, and UC DAVIS MPB will be coming to give students their insight and experiences about post-graduating experiences. They will also advice about what companies looks for in employees. This will be a great opportunity for professors and students to network and learn!

By interviewing Shivani Chand I have learned the importance of this student organization and what it does for CSU East Bay’s engineering majors. If you are interested in IIE and would like to learn more about this student organization visit IIE’s Facebook page: Institute of Industrial Engineers Facebook page

March 5, 2015 I attended the STEM Winter Mixer, hosted by the Institute for STEM Education. When one entered, there was a table where you signed in and received a raffle ticket. After, you were able to grab a refreshment and some pizza. Many students sat down at the tables with their food and began to speak to others about the courses they were were currently taking and what there major is. The environment was very comfortable and there was no pressure of an agenda. Two separate professionals came at different times during the event to speak to students and offer their professional insight. Students enjoyed the two guests speaker. Several students asked great questions to each of the professionals. 

Anything from how they got into their field to what internship/job opportunities were available at their company.  One of the special speakers who came, James E.T Jackson from Alameda Health System, was helpful because he was very opened with his personal experiences in his career. He answered every questioned asked of him and gave students his business card so they could contact him in the future. He also offered to make connects between the students and his colleagues who can help in other areas of student interests. During the mixer there was raffles where students we able to win a STEM bag filled with goodies. Bags included post-it booklet, notebook and a water bottle, which encouraged the students to stay longer. Students dropped in and out of the mixer which went from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. It was a great experience to converse with other students. I was able to connect and learn about students that had majors outside of my own and learn  about different careers paths of people with science degrees. It was great to speak to other students that I have never met and get their opinions on things that I lacked experience in Overall the mixer was a great and I would attend another one in the future. 

When students first begin their undergraduate degrees, they may think that obtaining their degree will be enough to have the kind of career they want. While earning a degree is a huge accomplishment, often other factors play into getting a first job.

A few months after graduation, some students find themselves tired of searching job ads to no avail. New graduates often have no idea where to find the job they really want. This is where networking comes in.Often a person in student’s network can help with job leads, introduce a student to an important person, or open doors to new positions.

Here are some tips for building a network while you are in school.

Join a group -- Most colleges have student organizations or groups that students can join. Everything from marketing, and business clubs, to the drama club, and sororities or fraternities are available for students to connect and share a common goal. While in the groups the students get to learn about and discuss ideas that are important to them. The people in these group often form bonds that last well beyond the college years, and can be useful in the future.

Intern -- During an internship, a student works for a company, usually for free, in order to gain real world experience in their chosen field. A student would learn what really goes into having the type of career they want to have. While working in the internship, it is possible to develop friendships and contacts that would be helpful later during a job search.

The manager of an internship would also be a great resource when the student needs a professional reference. The manager would be able to speak to the student’s ability to work in the real world, have good attendance, and excel on the job.

Volunteer -- Volunteering is a fast way to meet like-minded people who share similar goals. There are many volunteer opportunities from animal care to literacy tutoring. Through volunteering a student is able to make a difference in the world, while making connections that may last a lifetime.

If the director of an organization sees how passionate a student is about working for an important cause, they will be sure to remember that when the student is seeking work.

Attend Networking Events -- There are many networking events that are held outside of school that a student could attend. Based on what interests a student, they can attend events that focus on various subjects. Everything from public speaking, to creative writing, and business, can be studied outside of school through networking events and conferences.

These networking events usually have hundreds of people involved. This offers the student the opportunity to meet, and get to know people from various career levels. When it is time for the student to begin looking for work, they can reach out to their contacts for job leads.

Network Online -- Social media has made it possible to network with people in all types of industries all over the world. A student should always use social media wisely. Be careful about what is posted online. The online presence should be one that is professional, and speaks to a student’s good qualities.

Following people who work in the field they want to be in, is a good way to build up a network. The student can learn so much just from following people already in the field. When the time is right the student can even reach out to people online for job leads.

There are many ways to network. A student will get much further in their career search if they have many options for job leads, and professional references.

Try one of these networking ideas today!

Chris Martin became the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Pandora March 18, 2014. At Pandora he manages engineers, developers and customer service representatives. In total he manages 250 people and roughly 140 of them are engineers. Martin has not always been what we know him to be, an incredible engineer with an eye for innovation. He at one point was a college student trying to figure out his career path. Martin came back to his Alma Mater, UC Berkeley (CAL), for a question and answer session for Engineer’s week. This event was put on by CAL's Engineering Student Council (ESC).

Martin grew up in Berkeley, where he attended Berkeley High School. He then pursued his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Cruz. He soon realized that UC Santa Cruz was not a good fit and transferred to CAL to get his Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics. Soon after, he joined a tech start up running errands and answering phone calls in customer service. He always took full advantage of every position to sharpen his skills. "I would try to take the every technical phone calls," Martin stated. During his time at the start up, he was able to learn and develop skills outside of his job position. This made him a well rounded worker.

Before joining Pandora, Martin would spend three year spans at each job he did. Martin's positions were mostly variations of QA Analysts. In 2004, his then supervisor and current mentor was leaving and asked Martin to join him. Later that year he started at then Savage Beast (now Pandora) to become their Director of Software. He said having a mentor, or as he called it a "champion" was important in his path. If it was not for his mentor pushing him and giving him guidance, he may not be where he is today at Pandora. He said that mentors can come from anywhere. It could be your supervisor, a person you meet in class or at a conference. One has to be willing to reach out to someone and take initiative, the worse thing they can say is no.

Martin worked as the Director of Software for five years before being promoted to Vice President of Engineering. Martin felt that he was finally in a place he enjoyed and saw that there was room for movement. Pandora was the first company he stayed longer than three years. In the spring of 2014, Pandora, then CTO and mentor, Tom Conrad stepped down and Martin became his successor.  

To see more photos and other highlights of Engineers Week at UC Berkeley visit the Engineers Week Page.

Interested in an internship with Pandora, visit Pandora Road Crew