Student papers contest: Writing a good technical paper can get you a job and provide beneficial background for the future

Abstract

I see you've written a technical paper — tell me about it.” All of a sudden the tension eased for the new graduate engineer as he interviewed for his first professional job. He really wanted this job — and so did a hundred other applicants. It was with a prestigious employer, paid well, and offered opportunities for growth and advancement in precisely the field of his interests. He had the courses and grades to be competitive, but the interviewer appeared to be more interested in his student paper! — the work that had placed third in the IEEE Student Paper Contest. The interviewer knew well the value of engineers in her company who could communicate effectively. She, a senior engineer, was impressed with the initiative of this student and the way he could clearly express the essence of his paper, explain the technical problems, how he solved them, and how he related interesting findings with the well chosen graphical representations that he sketched while talking. His enthusiasm and ability to inform on a technical topic in a few minutes of the interview gave him an overwhelming edge over the other candidates.