College of Computing Speaker Series Presents “Cracking the Tech Interview”

College of Computing Speaker Series presents “Crack the Tech Interview,” a virtual panel discussion with experts from Intuit, Baxter International Inc., Slalom, and others, along with Illinois Tech’s associate vice president of career services on Friday, September 30, 2022, from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. CDT.

Registration for this virtual event is free.

Join the discussion on the following topics:

• Tips and advice on preparing for the interview
• What companies look for in a candidate
• The most important qualities interviewers seek
• How to get your first job when you lack experience
• Advice for interviewing via Zoom
• Tips to enhance your résumé and cover letter 
• Questions to ask the interviewer
• Researching the company and the interviewer

The panel will be moderated by Thy Nguyen, Illinois Tech’s associate vice provost for student engagement and career services. Nguyen oversees many of the university’s student life functions, including Career Services, Campus Life, Residence Life, and Pre-Collegiate. Nguyen has more than 22 years of experience in career services, including working with students and companies in STEM-related areas. Nguyen recently served as a core committee member for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, providing recommendations on elevating career services within a university setting.

Panel members include Jonathan Mizel, Intuit senior manager. Mizel is a strategic thinker with 15 years of experience in leadership, market and statistical analysis, forecasting, sports market investment, pricing strategy, supply chain, business intelligence, digital and analog technology, and marketing and sales strategy consulting. He has spent the last 10 years in data and business operations analytics diving into exploratory data analysis, understanding and researching data sets, and developing predictive models, as well as the narrative building and storytelling required to influence stakeholders, communicate effectively, and spur people into action. His current work focuses on forecasting new customer acquisition for the U.S. market.

Nikita Cheron-Mizel is a communication strategist and program manager at Meta/Facebook with over 10 years of communications experience, three of which have been with a major tech company. As an influential advisor and partner to the teams and leaders she supports, Cheron-Mizel utilizes data, change management tactics, and creative storytelling to help build and sustain productive and enjoyable work environments for employees and leaders. Cheron-Mizel currently partners with a team to develop and implement strategic internal communications during significant events and crises. Before working in tech, Cheron-Mizel was a senior writer for United Airlines and spent her first 3.5 years at United as a flight attendant where she developed and honed crisis management, operations, and communications skills. As a Haitian-American growing up in Miami, she quickly understood the importance of communicating clearly and effectively with different cultures and backgrounds, and has carried this lesson with her throughout her career.

Yessie Susanto, senior manager and data science at Baxter International Inc., has 10 years of experience in data and analytics within the finance, airlines, and healthcare industries. She received her undergraduate degree in applied mathematics from DePaul University and her Master of Analytics degree from the University of Chicago. Susanto likes all aspects of working within the data analytics space from the building data frameworks to obtaining insights through the use of advanced analytical techniques. In her free time, Susanto enjoys spending time with her husband and two pups, and will be welcoming a baby boy this coming November.

Syed Junaid Ali, DevOps practitioner, is a technology strategist working in end user computing. For the past 14 years he has worked on large-scale traditional desktop and web app deployments in higher education and healthcare. He is a DevOps believer implementing automation, continuous improvement, monitoring, and feedback loops to deliver innovation and business growth. As a systems and virtualization engineer at Illinois Tech, he has developed system automation to continuously increase employee productivity and reduce lead-time to enable business agility. He has an MBA from Stuart School of Business, an M.S. in Computer Science from Illinois Tech, and a Bachelor’s in Information Technology from Bombay University.

Erika C. Burt, director of professional and academic programs at Illinois Tech’s College of Computing, will introduce the panelists and moderator.

Free registration