Hacker Tour Coming to HMC Career Fair

The Fall Career Fair on Oct. 12 will be the largest in Harvey Mudd College’s history and a featured stop for the 2012 Hacker Tour, a 25-campus recruitment effort.

Readyforce, an online platform that connects college students with potential employers, organized the tour to seek the nation’s best computer science and engineering students on behalf of nearly 20 technology startups.

The startups will face fierce competition for recruiting talented students in what will be the largest career fair in HMC’s history. More than 80 companies will participate, including Microsoft, LinkedIn and Intuit.

“We decided to close registration three weeks early because of various factors, but mostly because we’re not sure all the tables will fit in the Linde Activities Center,” said HMC Director of Career Services Judy Fisher. “Readyforce’s Hacker Tour represents small start-up organizations, so our students are being presented this option alongside the traditional, larger companies at the career fair.”

Interestingly, HMC was not on Readyforce’s original tour schedule.

“It wasn’t even on our school list, but then two or three of our sponsors asked ‘Why aren’t you going to Harvey Mudd College?’” said Anna Binder, vice-president of client services for Readyforce. “Typically, we get these requests from people who want us to visit their alma maters. But, in Harvey Mudd’s case, it was because their companies had successfully recruited from Mudd and found great students there.”

The career fair gives students the opportunity to meet and talk with representatives from potential employers and graduate schools. It also includes a practice room for students, where employer volunteers give general advice about how students can present themselves effectively. These brief, 10-minute meetings help prepare students for the day, alleviate nervousness and provide valuable tips for their job and internship searches.

The Fall Career Fair will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, in the Linde Activities Center. It is open exclusively to HMC students and to those from the other Claremont Colleges.