MISA Alumni Spotlight — Brendan

One of the most common questions members ask in meetings is “How do you make your resume stand out?” While having a lot of internship and project experience may be one of the ways to make your resume stand out to companies, alumni Brendan O’Donoghue says that if you plan your classes right at SJSU, you just may have all of the experience you need to succeed in finding an internship or job at your dream company.

Jennifer: Can you tell us more about your role at ThreatMatrix?

Brendan: “So I actually just got promoted to my role recently and it’s been pretty good. For my role, I lead a team with Scrum and we basically monitor our production team and how they’re doing. When the team runs into any problems, we get called in to help them solve their problems.”

Jaspreet: How do you feel SJSU has prepared you for your role?

Brendan: “Honestly, I thought that all of the business and general education classes were very helpful for my job. But one class that I really wished I paid attention to was BUS4 111 (Networking and Data Communications). No one in my class took it seriously, I didn’t even take it seriously, but that class pretty much covers how networks are put together, network ranges, IP addresses, and these were all things that came up in my job a lot. If I just paid more attention to that class, I wouldn’t be asking so many simple questions.”

“…one class that I really wished I paid attention to was BUS4 111…”

Jennifer: Since you brought up classes, what are some other classes that proved really helpful in your career?

Brendan: “For members looking at an entry level role or internships, I’d say to really pay attention to the basic MIS courses since you’ll refer to what you learned from there a lot. Any classes that are technology-based are also good if you’re looking to work with smaller companies. The best class other than the networking one I talked about is Professor Sessions’ capstone project (BUS4 119B). It’s a hard class, but it really teaches you how to break down larger projects that you’ll see a lot in this field.”

“…really pay attention to the basic MIS courses since you’ll refer to what you learned from there a lot…”

Jaspreet: What are some projects that you suggest students should highlight on their resumes?

Brendan: “So first off, I’d say that any project that you do for a class should be highlighted on your resume since a lot of classes have really good projects. If you took the Big Data class (BUS4 118D), definitely highlight it! Even if you didn’t exactly write the code, just say you participated in it. It’s honestly fine to express uncertainty because it shows that you’re willing to be honest about your skills.”

“…any project that you do for a class should be highlighted on your resume…”

Jennifer: One last thing, how can students get themselves referred to a company?

Brendan: “I’d say just don’t be afraid to do some cold calling. Some of the things I did was that I messaged someone at Twitch and asked them what they were doing in their role. I also wanted to talk to someone about their experience in Microsoft, and asked my brother to connect me with him; we ended up chatting for 30 minutes about what he does. I’d say just definitely put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to ask other people what their jobs are like. You never know what’ll come out of it!”

“…just don’t be afraid to do some cold calling…”

Summary:

As members prepare to apply for their dream companies, they may feel nervous about their resume because they might not have enough experience for the job. However, Brendan’s journey through SJSU shows that the classes you take now will have an impact on your career, whether you realize it or not. Furthermore, Brendan encourages members to really highlight their class projects on their resumes. Even though these projects may have been done for a grade, they are still valuable experiences that demonstrate your knowledge of business and technology.

This article was brought to you by Jennifer Gili and Jaspreet Kaur, members of the SJSU Alumni Committee.