CME 299: Engineering Your Career Path — Career Readiness Workshops for Graduate Students

Prepare for fall recruiting with resume and interview strategies from Stanford Career Education, plus career fair and networking advice from ICME alum Mihir Karkare. Sample resumes will be shared. RSVP HERE.

*This workshop is not required for CME 299, but is strongly recommended to help you prepare for fall recruiting.

Featured Guests:

• Daisy Chavez Serrano, Associate Director of Career Coaching and Education, Stanford Career Ed (Focus Engineering & Sustainability)
• Ryan Morgado, Assistant Director of Career Coaching & Education, Stanford Career Ed (Focus Engineering & Sustainability) 
• Mihir Karkare, ICME Alum '26 and Program Manager, Mercor 

Hear directly from recruiters, Stanford alumni, and fellow students about how to stand out throughout the hiring process, from building a strong resume to navigating traditional and technical interviews. Learn about the unique career journeys of fellow students and Stanford alumni.

Recruiter Panel— In Progress:

• Melissa Garrido, PhD Sourcing Specialist at IMC Trading
• Kevin Hall, Principal Technical Recruiter at ASML
• Tina Rosic, Recruitment & Early Talent at Cerebras
• Catherine Reynolds, Technical Recruiter (Data) at Superhuman

Student & Alumni Panel — In Progress:

• Shervine Amidi, Stanford Alum, Adjunct Professor at Stanford and ML at Netflix 
• Yash Dave, Stanford MS Student and Research Intern
• Zhenglun (Alan) Lou, Stanford Alum, Member of Technical Staff at Anthropic, previously Google
• Adrien Specht, Stanford PhD Student and ML Scientist Intern
• Rui Yan, Stanford Alum, Senior Research Scientist at Meta

An interactive workshop that helps students build meaningful, mutually beneficial professional relationships. Students will develop their networking story using a four-part framework—headline, details, future goals, and ask—and practice sharing it with peers. They will also learn practical strategies for identifying contacts, preparing for conversations, crafting effective outreach, and following up to build lasting professional connections.

Featured Guests:

• Sherice Torres, Stanford Alum and Director of MBA Career Advising and Education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Executive Coach and 3X CMO 
• Theanne Thomson, Stanford Alum and Director of Students and Alumni Strategic Initiatives at the Stanford Alumni Association

Job searching in the age of AI can feel overwhelming. Should you use AI? How can you use it effectively? And how do you make sure your application still feels authentic and stands out? The good news: you don’t need to master every AI tool or follow every new trend. You’ll leave with three key techniques you can apply immediately to your resume, networking, and job search. Using a Pareto Principle approach, we’ll focus on the things that actually matter: 

• Get Past the ATS: Understand how employers screen applications and how to use AI strategically to strengthen your resume and application without simply copying a job description.
• Build the Right Referrals: Not all referrals are equally valuable. Learn how to identify the right people to connect with and how to build relationships that can actually help move your application forward.
• Go Beyond the Gatekeepers: Don’t rely solely on recruiters to get your foot in the door. Learn how to identify and connect with people who are closer to the teams, projects, and hiring decisions you’re targeting.

Featured Guest: 
Jeremy Schifeling, Founder of The Job Insiders, Best-Selling Author & AI Career Expert, Lecturer at Stanford GSB

“To be interesting, be interested.” — Dale Carnegie

How many times have you walked into a networking event or social gathering and immediately started searching for the nearest exit? Small talk gets a bad reputation for being forced, awkward, or simply something to tolerate. But it doesn’t have to be. Small talk is the on ramp to meaningful conversations, professional relationships, collaborations, and connections. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn a simple three-move approach—Spark, Deepen, Transition—to help you start conversations, keep them going, and move naturally toward more meaningful connections. You’ll gain practical strategies for navigating networking events with greater confidence, finding common ground, and connecting with people you genuinely want to know. Because small talk isn’t the goal—it’s the beginning of the conversation that matters.

Featured Guest: 
Michael Shehane, Executive Coach and Founder of InStride Leadership, where he's coached leaders from Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, Stanford, and Genentech

Students will develop and enhance their presentation skills, focusing on techniques for delivering clear, engaging, and impactful presentations.

Featured Guest: 
Thomas Freeland, PhD, Lecturer in Stanford’s Oral Communication Program, teaching courses including CTL 219: Public Speaking for Graduate Students and CTL 177: The Performance of Power. Thomas Freeland received his B.F.A. and M.A. in Theatre from the University of Colorado and his Ph.D. in Drama from Stanford University. In addition to acting and directing, he writes and translates plays, and has been published in Performing Arts Journal, Modern Drama and New German Critique. He is in his twenty-sixth year as an Advanced Lecturer in the Oral Communication Program at Stanford University, teaching Voice, Acting, Public Speaking and Rhetoric.

Students will explore best practices for negotiating job salary and conditions, focusing on achieving fair terms while maintaining positive relationships with future employers. The workshop includes interactive discussions and partner practice sessions.

Featured Guest:
Jessica Notini, JD, Lecturer at the Stanford Law School and Stanford VPGE