How to Get the Most Out of Company Info Sessions
Company info sessions are one of the most underrated tools in your recruiting toolkit, and one of the most underused. Whether you're a first-year who just declared CS or a senior with three internships under your belt, here's how to walk in prepared and walk out with something valuable.
What Actually Happens
Most tech info sessions follow a similar structure:
Company overview (10-15 min) — recruiters and/or employees give a rundown of what the company does, its culture, and current priorities.
Role/team deep dive (15-20 min) — specifics on the internship or new-grad roles being hired for, what a "day in the life" looks like, and what teams you might land on.
Q&A (15-30 min) — open floor for you to ask questions, either to the whole room or in smaller breakout conversations.
Networking / informal mingling — often the most valuable part, and the easiest to skip if you leave early. Don't.
Sessions for AI/ML and data science roles specifically will often go deeper on the technical stack (what frameworks or platforms the team uses), the kinds of problems the team solves (research-adjacent vs. applied vs. infra-heavy), and how much of the role is modeling vs data engineering vs research, etc. Pay attention to these details because they'll help you figure out if a role is actually the kind of work you want to do, not just a recognizable company name.
"But I'm Not Qualified"
An info session is not an interview!
Companies do info sessions because they want to pitch themselves to you. If anything, you're the interviewer there!
A lot of students skip these sessions because they assume everyone else in the room is more qualified, has already talked to a recruiter, or has some inside track. In reality, most people in that room are figuring it out in real time too, and the students who ask thoughtful questions are often the ones with the least experience — because they're the ones for whom the answers actually matter.
Recruiters remember engaged students far more than they remember GPAs.
"I Might Not be a Good Culture Fit"
You do not need to be sure you want to work at a company to attend its info session. Info sessions exist precisely so you can figure out whether a company or role is a fit! All you have to do is show up and ask thoughtful questions.
If you're just starting to explore AI/ML or data science and don't know a random forest from a neural net, that's fine. Info sessions are where you learn what questions to even ask next; what kind of values and skills the company looks for; and how current employees actually feel about the work they're doing. That's information you can only get by showing up.
Sample Questions to Ask
Skip "what does your company do" (that's covered in the overview) and go for questions that get real answers:
About the role/team:
What does a typical project timeline look like for an intern on this team?
How much of the work is exploratory/research versus building production pipelines?
What tools or frameworks does the team use day-to-day?
How are interns paired with mentors or given ownership over their project?
What does intern onboarding / orientation look like?
Do interns have the opportunity to connect with leadership or showcase their projects at the end of the summer?
About growth and culture:
What surprised you most after joining the team?
How does the team decide what to work on — is it more top-down or does everyone pitch ideas?
What separates someone who does well in this internship from someone who struggles?
Do employees tend to remain in the same teams for a long period of time, and is there flexibility to eventually explore adjacent teams/roles?
About the hiring process:
What does your technical interview process look like for this role?
What do you wish more candidates knew before applying?
Is there anything specific you look for in a resume for this role that isn't obvious?
Icebreaker / emergency questions if you can't think of anything specific:
Are you based in the Bay Area?
How are you liking Berkeley?
How long is your recruiting team here?
What are the company's office locations?
Which offices have you been to?
Which locations can interns work out of?
What have been some of your company's goals for the new year / second half of the year / closing out the year that teams have been working towards?
Is your team internal facing or do you interact with users/customers a lot? Do you prefer that?
How do your teams usually use AI & what kind of AI fluency or specific skills do you look for in interns?
A good rule of thumb: ask questions you can't find the answer to by just reading the company's website. Those kinds of questions are fine if you're truly tongue-tied, but get excited about the company before you go, research them a little, and remember this: you've got exclusive face-to-face in person real life access to people who work there now. Not every applicant gets that. What are you really curious about? What inside information do you wish you could have? Now's your chance to get it!
Ask your burning questions rather than obvious or surface level ones — that's what makes you memorable.
A Few More Tips
Bring a notebook or notes app. You'll hear names, project types, and details you'll want to reference in a cover letter or, if you get contact info, a thank you email to send after the event.
Get names and, if appropriate, LinkedIns. A short follow-up message referencing something specific from the conversation goes a long way.
Dress code is usually casual-to-business-casual unless stated otherwise — you don't need to overdress, but maybe don't wear pajamas. Show respect to the employees who travelled here to speak with you, and let them know you're taking their time and advice seriously.
It's okay to just listen. Not everyone needs to ask a question in the big group — some of the best conversations happen one-on-one afterward.
Bottom Line
Info sessions are low-stakes, high-reward. You're not being evaluated the way you would be in an interview — you're gathering information and building relationships that might matter down the line, sometimes in ways you won't see until much later. Come with curiosity, not a resume-ready script, and you'll get more out of it than you expect.
See you there!
Article by Reva Gokhale, WiCDS president.