My GHC 2022 Experience

If you're a woman/nonbinary in tech reading this, hopefully you already know about GHC (Grace Hopper Celebration). It's an amazing conference for networking and career development (not to mention all the free swag if you're lucky enough to attend in-person!).

Keep reading to learn about my GHC22 experience!

Day -1: Amazon Happy Hour

I was lucky enough to be invited to a pre-GHC Amazon networking event on Monday. This event probably had the best food out of all the events I participated in at GHC!

The event included a networking hour, an info session, and a giveaway for an Amazon Alexa.

One thing I noticed was that there were a lot of people who worked < 2 years at Amazon. Maybe they like to send newbies to networking events or it's a sign of something 👀

Day 0: Badge Pickup

We went to go pickup our badges and get our cute little Anita B GHC totebags!

We also took this opportunity to get pics at the conference center!

Hack: Get your badge laminated at the onsite Fedex printing center. This protects your badge from spills or getting crushed.

(The rest of the day was spent at Disney Springs LOL).

Day 1: Career Fair

The first thing all of us did was hit the career fair. What I did notice that as the day went on, everyone got really tired, including the recruiters.

The main event is obviously the career fair. There was an air of desperation as many anxious attendees started hitting up all the booths. It felt very tense - and I couldn't help but feel left behind as I watched other people talk to recruiters.

TIP: go actually have fun and attend sessions!

At the back of the career fair hall are many tables, where you could take a rest or attend your 1:1s (if you were lucky enough to snag one when they opened). I signed up for a handful of 1:1s, and while I didn't get any interview offers from those, I did feel like it was a low-key way to learn more about different companies. One of my best 1:1s was with a developer from Nintendo - I thought they was so cool! Apparently, Nintendo usually only hires from their intern pool, so my chances of getting in were low.

In total, I attended 4 1:1s, 1 info session, and had 1 interview. Some companies reach out before GHC (as long as you submit your resume to the Anita B database) and schedule interviews during GHC. This interview was one I received before GHC.

Some of the company booths were so fun to interact with! Here is Citi's beach themed sandbox!

Dropbox handed out these cute makeup bags with customizable stickers! I got my initials on my bag.

Bank of America had a HUGE booth. They gave away very cute water bottles and had a photographer to take your picture!

The best part of GHC though is hanging out with your friends afterward. My university's chapter of ACM-W sent many women from our university - some of who were already my friends. So we hit Margaritaville after the first night at GHC!

Day 2: Japanese Women in Tech Networking + Career Fair

On my second day, I was able to connect with other Japanese women in tech. It was cool to listen to their journeys and many

I also attended 2 1:1s this day and had 1 interview (with the company I now work with!)

What was crazy to me is that I was asked back to talk to the company just 2 hours later to negotiate my offer! I definitely advise any attendees of GHC to look into what you want in your total comp as you interview with companies. I was definitely feeling awesome as I was able to secure an offer with a company that I really felt would help me grow!

At night, I attended the Happy Hour for Amazon Prime and Doordash.

They had one of those selfie stations where the camera goes around you! I had a lot of fun with my friends taking this video! The cool thing about these networking events is that if one of us heard about it, we would share the deets with the rest of the gang (as long as it wasn't invite only).

(I love the open bar at these events haha!)

Day 3: Last Day of GHC!

Honestly, by Friday, I was so happy that it was the last day. GHC can be really exhausting, both mentally and physically. Especially as people started receiving their new grad offers, you couldn't help but compare. I think I dedicated this day to getting as much swag as I could, since I had already secured my grad offer.

I had one more interview this day - which I wish I had been able to schedule earlier! With this specific company that I interviewed, if I had interviewed before Thursday night, I would have received a ticket to go to Harry Potter World. Obviously, getting perks shouldn't be your biggest reason to interview with companies but it definitely is nice to get.

TIP: double triple check your email before GHC and sign up for any inteview slots available to you!

I also signed up for one more 1:1 this day.

Lastly, the convention center is huge!!! Going from the career fair hall to the interview hall to session rooms took almost 15-20 minutes! Which feels like a lot of time walking!