Rejection Blues

by Mirella M. Moro

Outline

• Submitting your work is important

• Factors influence paper selection

• What to do if paper rejected

• What rejection does not mean

• What rejection means

Submitting Work

• Work = paper, project proposal, poster …

• Submitting work is important because– Enrich your resume– Force you to clarify your ideas– The reviews may improve your work– Where else would you get an expert opinion

for free?

Be conscious

Publishing a paper in a major conference/journal is hard

If paper is rejectedDO NOT GIVE UP!!

Therefore

Because …

Factors beyond the quality of your work may influence paper selection

• Not the right conference track

• Topic beyond the committee’s expertise

• Topic with large number of submissions

• Politics

• Luck

What to do if rejected?!

• Deal with your emotions• And then

– Read the reviews closely– Validate them– Criticism as a suggestion of improvement– If rejection because a misunderstanding:

clarify your arguments

“Papers are like wine,they need time to mature”

Rejections does NOT mean

• You’re a failure

• Your work is irrelevant

• You should work on some other topic

• You should change advisor

• You should leave grad school

Rejection means only one thing:you can improve your paper

1. Write a to-do list from reviewer’s comments

2. Typical items to consider• Improve text readability

• Make contributions crystal clear

• Include more experiments and results

3. Resubmit it to next conference, another journal

Make sure it is published somewhere

Questions/comments?

“Papers will find their homes”

“Practice makes perfect”

Getting an Internship

Outline

• Before applying for an internship

• Why is it important?

• How to get one?

• Application process

• Final advice

Before anything else

• Make sure he/she agrees with you taking an internship

• Ask for help and contacts

Talk to your advisor

Internship is important because…

• Enrich your resume

• Collaboration with industry

• Different way of thinking and working

• “Hands on” experience

• Meet other people, expand network of contacts

• Better $alary

“You convinced me, how do I get one?!”

1. Ask your advisor/peers for contacts

2. Apply directly through companies

websites and/or

3. Email people you (your advisor) know

4. Apply to many companies

One more thing…

Contacting someone you know within the company increases the chances of your resume

being looked at

Application process

• Prepare your material (resume, cover letter, transcripts, list of references)

• Research websites of companies

• Learn the rules of the game: per company

• Decide what you want– Development vs. Research (MS vs. MS Research)

• Focus on topics related to your thesis work or experience

Once you start working

Impress your bosses and team workers

You never know when you may need a reference or a job from them

Internship improves your education

and should be part of your grad school agenda

Questions/comments?

Tips on Interview

Outline

1. Before the interview

2. During the interview– Questions you might be asked

3. After the interview

1. Before an interviewPREPARE yourself

• Be familiar with the company’s work– E.g. read recent papers, articles on products

• Prepare a list of possible questions YOU may ask at the end of the interview– E.g. if there is already a project for you

≠ Companies ≠ Strategies

Research vs. Development

Your research experience• Review all your previous work and papers• Keep a list with highlights in front of you

Your development experience

Technical abilities• Review basic concepts of algorithms/coding• Have a computer in hand for coding questions

2. During the interview

Show enthusiasm

• Listen carefully to questions, explanations

• Make notes (if it helps)

• Act professionally, be polite/respectful

• Always thank for the opportunity

• Always say you look forward to hearing from

them soon

• Dress accordingly (if in-person interview)

Questions you might be asked• Personal

– What do you see yourself doing in 3, 5 years?

• Research– Why did you use your approach and not something

else or someone else’s?– Know the assumptions and limitations of your work– Prepare summaries of your work with different level

of details (15 seconds, 3 minutes, 20 minutes)

• Technical– Do you know anything about X? What do you think

about X? (BE CAREFUL!)

3. After the interview

• Keep in touch with your interviewers

• Maybe write a formal “thank you”

Keep in mind

unless you have signed an offer,

nothing is guaranteed

Whether you get an offer or not:

you have made new, important

contacts for the future

Questions/comments?