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Implementation and Evaluation of Technical Interview Preparation Activities in a Data Structures and Algorithms Course

Authors:

Amanpreet Kapoor,

Sajani Panchal,

Christina Gardner-McCuneAuthors Info & Claims

SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1

Pages 882 - 888

https://doi.org/10.1145/3545945.3569755

Published: 03 March 2023 Publication History

Abstract

This experience report describes and evaluates the introduction of Hire Thy Gator technical interview preparation activities in a Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) course. Our intervention included a panel on internship experiences, a role-play interview demonstration, two participatory mock interview preparation exercises where students interviewed each other first using self-selected peers and second through random pair-ups, and graded short programming problems. We (1) explain the logistics and rationale for embedding these activities, (2) describe the lessons learned and evolution of the activities beyond the intervention semester, and (3) evaluate the impact of these activities on students. We report data from 257 students who participated in our intervention and 106 students who were a part of a control group. Students found that our activities promoted awareness of the recruitment process, allowed them to self-evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and prepared them for technical interviews. Quantitatively, the intervention cohort reported a higher average normalized confidence gain (0.42) than the control group (0.36) indicating that our activities can aid in building students' confidence.

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Cited By

Lunn SZerbe ERoss M(2024)You’re Hired! A Phenomenographic Study of Undergraduate Students’ Pathways to Job Attainment in ComputingACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/363651424:1(1-29)Online publication date: 14-Jan-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3636514
Hatem A(2023)Pilot Project to Study the Effectiveness of Job Interview Preparation WorkshopsJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3636517.363652639:1(76-82)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3636517.3636526
Mackroy KNelson WWashington TGosha K(2023)Virtual Post Baccalaureate Technical Interview Develpoment for Black Software Engineers2023 Conference on Research in Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)10.1109/RESPECT60069.2023.00042(177-181)Online publication date: 20-Jun-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/RESPECT60069.2023.00042

Index Terms

Implementation and Evaluation of Technical Interview Preparation Activities in a Data Structures and Algorithms Course
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing profession
      1. Employment issues

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Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

SIGCSE 2023: Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1

March 2023

1481 pages

ISBN:9781450394314

DOI:10.1145/3545945

General Chairs:
Maureen Doyle
Northern Kentucky University, USA
,
Ben Stephenson
University of Calgary, Canada
,
Program Chairs:
Brian Dorn
University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA
,
Leen-Kiat Soh
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
,
Lina Battestilli
North Carolina State University, USA

Copyright © 2023 ACM.

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New York, NY, United States

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Published: 03 March 2023

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SIGCSE 2023: The 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

March 15 - 18, 2023

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Cited By

Lunn SZerbe ERoss M(2024)You’re Hired! A Phenomenographic Study of Undergraduate Students’ Pathways to Job Attainment in ComputingACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/363651424:1(1-29)Online publication date: 14-Jan-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3636514
Hatem A(2023)Pilot Project to Study the Effectiveness of Job Interview Preparation WorkshopsJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3636517.363652639:1(76-82)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3636517.3636526
Mackroy KNelson WWashington TGosha K(2023)Virtual Post Baccalaureate Technical Interview Develpoment for Black Software Engineers2023 Conference on Research in Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)10.1109/RESPECT60069.2023.00042(177-181)Online publication date: 20-Jun-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/RESPECT60069.2023.00042

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