Trainer's Tips #2 -- Career Fair

Most people do not just wake up one day and decide to run a marathon. Running a marathon takes dedication, practice, deliberate decision making, and the right tools to be successful. Career development and planning follow the same principles. If you want to find the right job, in the right location, with the right company, and the right pay and benefits, you need to start making decisions, as early as possible, that will affect your marketability when you graduate.

As you may know, we require that students attend the Career Fair every year to qualify for the Job Guarantee/Commitment; not just seniors looking for full-time positions. Students often ask why they are required to go to the Career Fair freshman and sophomore year.

We feel confident enough to guarantee that you will be employed within 90 days after graduation, because if you complete everything on the list, you are extremely marketable as a job applicant. I would like to encourage you to stop viewing attending the Career Fair as something that you were told you have to do, and instead, view it as the opportunity that it is.

Finding your first job out of school is one of the hardest things you will ever do.  Attending Career Day, the Career Fair, workshops, participating in clubs, maintaining a high GPA, and completing the other requirements will make finding a job less difficult.If you are seeking a full-time position, please check out our Spring 2015 edition of the Career Chronicle, and check out next month’s blog post for strategies for getting the best results.

What can you do at the Career Fair if you are not actively seeking an internship or full-time position?

LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOURSELF COMPETITIVE

You have the opportunity to speak directly to recruiters from major organizations.  This is your chance to ask questions.

A few examples:

• What electives should I consider taking that will make me a more marketable candidate? 
• How heavily do they weigh GPA when making hiring decisions?
• What can I do now that will make me a more appealing candidate in the future?
• Is it a good idea to get an unpaid internship?
• What impact does volunteer work have on my candidacy?
• What clubs or national organizations should I join?

This information can help you plan future semesters.

NETWORK AND CONNECT

About 80% of jobs are now found through networking.  Getting to know the recruiters is the best way to make sure they remember you when the time comes for you to seek out a position.   

I was told a story about a student at another university that went to the Career Fair every year. He had dreamed of working at a specific company. First and second year, he introduced himself and expressed his interest in the organization. By junior year, the recruiter was then looking for him at the fair, and had already arranged an internship interview, since he knew the student was interested. By senior year, he had a full-time job offer in hand.

LEARN ABOUT WHAT COMPANIES ARE OUT THERE

The NSA and Google are not the only companies out there that are hiring your major. Did you know that the CIA hires Astronautical Engineering majors to design satellites? Business Majors, almost every company has a finance, human resources, or project/business management positions. There are smaller companies who may allow you more responsibility or a more dynamic work experience.

Career development is not a ladder, there is not only one way to get to where you want to go. Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook describes in her book “Lean In” that rising in your career is more like a jungle-gym. You are not limited to going just straight up, but you can climb diagonally, sideways, and other directions to maneuver where you need to be.

INTERNSHIPS/PART-TIME WORK

The CIA is now accepting applications for clandestine internships for the summer of 2016, and the deadline is the end of March. Yes, they are accepting applications more than 1 year in advance, because they put all qualified applicants through the security clearance process.  Other internships will be posted in July. Don’t wait until the last minute to apply. We are also striving to offer more part-time local opportunities for students who want to work while they study.

RSVP IN ADVANCE

You may also want to find out ahead of time what companies are going to be attending the Career Fair. Knowing the companies that are attending gives you a reasonable amount of time to do your research on each individual company and find out which one best suits you.  Also, if your résumé is uploaded to your account, employers will have access to your résumé in advance as well.

To RSVP:

Click the Documents tab at the top of the page

Upload the latest version of your résumé.

Click the events tab at the top of the page

Select Capitol Technology University Career Fair 2015

Select “Upload your résumé and RSVP to the event”

Select the employers you are interested in, and confirm your registration (please note these employers are the only employers registered right now.  There will be additional registrations as we get closer to the event).

If you have any questions, please contact me by emailing Careers@CapTechU.edu

By Sarah Alspaw,  Assistant Director of Career Services and Graduate Student Support