This winter we packed up and hit three career fairs at UC Berkeley, University of Waterloo, and Carnegie Mellon University.

We put a whiteboard out front that said "Boba for your CS or EECS resume" and let curiosity do the work. Every EECS, CS, and SWE major who stopped by with their resume got a drink. The line was long. Totally worth the money.

Our booth at the STEM Career Fair at UC Berkeley

Brown Sugar Pearl Matcha Latte, Brown Sugar Pearl Latte, and Mango Pomelo Sago — the lineup at our booth.

Behind the boba was the actual booth: a table, a laptop, and the Foam team ready to talk. If you made it past the whiteboard, you likely got to meet the team and learn in depth what we do and what we are looking for.

Skipping the first interview

We scrapped first interviews entirely and booked second interviews on the spot for strong candidates. Here is why it worked: we got to vibe in person and gauge culture fit. We asked real questions and skipped the intro chat. And since we were right there, we scheduled next steps in real time. For candidates, it was a fast track. For us, it cut days out of the process.

We interviewed dozens of new grads as a result.

What we found

The talent at all three schools was genuinely remarkable. These are engineers who grew up with LLMs, move fast, and have high standards for the work they want to do. We reviewed thousands of resumes across the three fairs, had a lot of great conversations, and walked away with a list we were excited about.

A few of those people are already on the team. More are on the way.

If you stopped by our booth, grabbed a boba, and chatted with us, thank you. It was one of the most fun things we have done as a team. We will definitely be back.