On February 6, 2015, the Top Secret Colonials sponsored an IT Resume Writing Lecture. This lecture was given by Al Wong of The MITRE Corporation. The talk featured specific tips related to resume writing and interviewing for IT Security positions. If you are planning to be in the job market for a security-related position, take a few minutes to review the slides from this lecture:
Resumes That Get You in the Door (PDF)
Sponsored by The Top Secret Colonials
Dr. Karen Paullet spoke with KDKA news today regarding the recent data breach at Anthem, an Indianapolis-based Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company. See the interview here in case you missed it on tonight’s newscast:
Video: Health Insurers, Hospitals Vulnerable to Cyber Attack, Say Experts
UPMC will be attending RMU’s Spring Career Fair on April 7, 2015. They are specifically interested in MUMPS programmers. MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System), alternatively called M, is a general-purpose programming language for transaction processing that was originally designed for the healthcare industry and continues to be used in many large hospitals today.
At RMU, M programming is taught in the following courses:
If you have experience in M or have taken the courses above, you should make a point to attend the Spring Career Fair in April!
IBM’s Master the Mainframe Contest is a rigorous academic contest that involves learning mainframe technologies. The contest takes place in three parts – with each part getting significantly more difficult. It is difficult to finish Part 2 of the contest and extremely difficult to finish Part 3.
During last year’s contest, RMU had 18 students complete both Parts 1 and 2, which is a tremendous accomplishment! Three of those students went on to complete Part 3, the most rigorous part of the contest. To put this amazing accomplishment into perspective, only 50 students received Part 3 Honorable Mentions for completing Part 3, out of 4,900 participants.
Out of 4,900 competitors in the U.S. and Canada, RMU had the following results (see here for complete contest results):
We are proud to announce the following RMU winners for 2014:
RMU Part 3 Honorable Mentions
RMU Part 2 Finishers
David Conley, one of the Part 3 Honorable Mention winners, described the experience as a positive one, saying, “Part 3 of the contest involved sorting files by use of JCL commands, access to a DB2 database, and the creation of reports using data contained in that database. All are skills that will compliment what is learned in class , look good on a resume, and provide confidence in your new abilities.” David is a graduate student in the MS Information Systems Management program.
Torrie McLaughlin, another of the Part 3 Honorable Mention winners, had the following advice for other students, “I entered the contest because I thought it would be fun, and I enjoy games that test my intelligence. I would definitely recommend the contest for CIS majors of any type, not just Mainframe specific. It was lots of fun and a great experience.” Torrie is a student in the Integrated Bachelor/Masters program working toward an BS in Information Sciences and an MS in Competitive Intelligence Systems.
Daniel Owiti, the final of the Part 3 Honorable Mention winners, had much to share about his positive experience with the contest. He says, “When I joined Robert Morris University in 2012, a couple of my professors, in particular Dr. Kovacs, evangelized the growth and potential of IBM Mainframes and the increasing demand for Mainframe professionals. Despite having a misplaced notion of Mainframe being an old technology, my curiosity got the better of me and I enrolled in two enterprise classes in the Spring of 2014.”
He continues, “When asked to enter the IBM Master The Mainframe Contest, my first reaction was, ‘Will I have the time and energy to go through the rigors while working full time, attending classes and spare time for my family?’ But the constant encouragement of one Professor, Packy [Dr. Packy Laverty], led me to enter the ring and see what this contest was made of. My biggest motivation was just gaining knowledge rather than completing the contest. But once started all I said was ‘Aha!.. This is doable’ with each and every step I completed. Dr. Zeanchock’s very structured and easy to follow class helped a lot. I am very glad I took the contest and went on to be a Part 2 Finisher and a Part 3 Wall of Famer. Part 3 was most challenging but also the most practical and interesting to work on a real world business application. I would highly encourage students and anybody with a tech-curiosity to take part. I look forward to pursuing a career in IBM zEnterprise.” Daniel is a graduate student pursuing an MS in Internet Information Systems.
We are extremely proud of all of our students for their achievements in this contest and hope that even more CIS students will be interested in the contest in 2015. Great work, everyone!
Reminder:
LANTek will be giving a Professional Information Technology Presentation on campus on Thursday, January 29.
LANtek will discuss who All Lines/LANtek are and their current career opportunities, including a program at PPG. They will also provide an introduction to “Interview Skill Building” aimed at information technology students.
The Information Technology Presentation will be held at the Wheatley Center Critique Room, and will follow this schedule:
Please come out to attend — you will not be overwhelmed or bored!
IT Resume Writing Lecture – Al Wong from The MITRE Corporation
Sponsored by The Top Secret Colonials
Friday, February 6th
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm in the Critique Space in Wheatley
Al Wong from The MITRE Corporation will be giving a lecture on how to write a winning IT resume. He will be showcasing before and after resumes from several CIS students. Did you know that when applying for an IT job they are looking for a minimum of a 3-page resume? The old 1-page resume standard does not apply to most IT positions. Join us to learn how to write a resume to impress.
Light refreshments will be served.
Al Wong is a Lead Inter-disciplinary Systems Engineer at The MITRE Corporation, a non-profit organization operating 6 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers for the United States Government. He has 30 years of experience providing strategic guidance to the Federal Government with 10 of these years as a trusted advisor to United States Government Executives.
Mr. Wong holds a BS in Internetworking Technologies with a minor in Information Assurance and a MS in Management of Information Systems. In addition to formal education, Mr. Wong has held the following industry certifications.
Mr. Wong is also HR Certification Institute (HRCI) trained and certified (2009 – present) in behavioral interviewing and resume assessment techniques. As one of two certified behavioral interviewers at the MITRE Corporation, he has reviewed thousands of resumes and recommended candidates for hire. Mr. Wong has assessed resumes and interviewed candidates for the following positions:
Software Developers
Network Engineer
SOC Staff
System Administrators
Incident Response Engineers
Enterprise Architects
SOA Engineers
Cyber Security Tech
HIPAA Compliance Auditors
Security Analysts
IDS Engineers
Business Analyst
Forensic Engineer
Program Managers
Hardware Technician
QA Engineers
Technical Trainers
We are proud to announce that Dr. Karen Paullet, Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Systems, is the recipient of this year’s Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Service to RMU in 2013-14!
Dr. Paullet was recognized for her exceptional work in serving the University and our students in engaged learning. In 2013-14, Dr. Paullet formed and served as advisor to the student organization Top Secret Colonials, one of the most visible and successful student groups to organize in many years at RMU. She organized the Top Secret Colonials and other CIS students, for two years in a row, to participate in the Washington Center’s National Security academic seminar that focuses on cyber security. She led fundraising activities, helped the students prepare resumes, coached their presentations, and prepared them for the top-level encounters with government officials that are part of the academic seminar. Her efforts were instrumental in RMU’s being named the Washington Center’s Academic Seminar Institution of the Year in 2014.
In addition, Dr. Paullet served the University by her frequent presentations to government, corporate, and non-profit groups on cyber forensics and information security, and by her extensive recruiting efforts aimed at high school students.
Congratulations, Dr. Paullet!
Top Secret Colonials (TSC) will be hosting a fundraising event on February 3, 2015 at 4:00pm.
Come out to Buffalo Wild Wings in Robinson Township that Tuesday night for some great food and a great time! If you present the ticket below (either in printout form or on your mobile phone), 10% of your net sales will be donated to TSC!
We hope to see you there!
Reminder:
Grant Thornton will be coming to RMU on Thursday, January 22nd to present on computing trends in their area, internships, and job opportunities.
Grant Thornton is the 5th largest CPA firm in the world, with over 6,000 employees, and has named RMU as an Academic Affiliate. They are looking for “Competitive Intelligence” interns and new graduates for their Pittsburgh office. Also, they will be looking for “Information Security” interns and recent grads for their Philadelphia office. For both areas, they are looking at undergraduates and Masters students.
The Information Technology Presentation will be held at the Wheatley Center Critique Room, and will follow this schedule:
Please come out to attend — you will not be overwhelmed or bored!
CIS @ RMU 