The High Tech Association (HTA) at USC Marshall School of Business is committed to bringing members together and helping them prepare for careers in the technology industry. Members can pursue a variety of different career paths including product management (PM), product marketing management (PMM), finance, strategy & operations, sales, customer success, and more. And within these roles, you have the opportunity to work for companies that range from leading technology giants to innovative start-ups. Whether you are focused on pursuing a career in tech or simply interested in learning more about the industry, HTA welcomes you!
My goal as President of HTA is to build a community of tech-inspired individuals and to enable members to recruit successfully in the tech industry. In order to achieve this goal, we have developed three pillars to base our overall strategy around: Foster Camaraderie, Infuse Practicality, and Stay Relevant.
We all know the feeling of entering a new environment alone. Whether that is in the context of making friendships or recruiting, we want HTA to be a welcoming environment that addresses both of those issues.
Our goal is to foster camaraderie within HTA through more social events, a mentorship program, and a recruiting buddy system. Some social events will allow us to network with alumni and professionals while others will allow us to momentarily take a step back to get to know each other better as individuals. Recruiting is no easy task, which is why we want to develop the mentorship program and buddy system. The mentor, who is more experienced, will be able to share their recruiting knowledge and insights while the buddy, who is a direct peer, will be able to instill accountability.
Technology can be a difficult and confusing industry to break into, and it is HTA's privilege and responsibility to expose its members to all career paths in tech.
While resumes and cover letters are important, practical experience is even more vital. This is especially important for those who are pivoting industries or job functions.
Our goal is to infuse practicality into our events. We hope to continue hosting technical skill workshops that allow members to get direct exposure and practice with utilizing tools that are universally used in tech job functions. Similarly, we hope to continue hosting our Super Saturday casing events where members will get to do live casing interviews with alumni and/or experienced students. Another goal we have is to source in a project from an actual technology company to provide members with the opportunity to gain role-related, practical experience.
As we saw this past year, the technology industry can be very volatile in terms of employment. With that said, recruiting timelines may shift and change throughout the year.
Our goal is to stay on top of recruiting deadlines and member interests and adjust our events accordingly. While not all information, and changes to said information, is public to us, we will make a concerted effort to host relevant events in a timely manner to provide the most amount of benefit to our members.
HTA will have the resources to help you succeed, and we will be here to support our members professionally and emotionally. Most importantly, enjoy your time at Marshall!
Kenneth Lu
HTA President, 2024-2025