The iSchool Career Fair is this Wednesday, from 10 am – 2 pm in the Dome! Are you ready?
If you’re still trying to figure out how to land that internship or job with your dream employer, follow the advice of Christopher Perrello, the iSchool’s Director of Career Services. I asked him to help answer a few questions some may have about how to prepare for the Career Fair!
When are the upcoming workshops?
Although some have passed, there is still time to make it to Monday’s workshop. Monday’s workshop is another “Prepping for the Career Fair” workshop and it is online so that way any student can attend it from the comfort of their own spaces.
What can students gain out of the workshops?
Students will have the ability to discover the best practices for preparing for all-things career fair related. They will learn tips for ensuring that their resumes are polished and formatted for IT-related industry recruiters, as well as how to properly write a cover letter to apply along with their resumes.
iSchoolers can also learn how to develop an elevator pitch to help sell their skills in 1 – 2 minutes so that recruiters can take an interest in further looking at their resumes and consider them for particular internships or jobs. Students will also have the opportunity to ask any questions they would like regarding career fair topics.
How should students prepare for the career fair on their own?
Students can do plenty on their own (besides coming to one of our workshops).
First thing I would suggest is having a friend or relative critique their resume. Sometimes friends can be the most critical (constructively, of course)! Students can also log onto any of the recorded webinars that have been broadcasted so far this fall and disseminated out on the iSchool student listserv. Those recorded webinars will provide them with the tips for making a great resume, drafting a cover letter, and polishing up their LinkedIn profiles.
In addition, I recommend that students log onto our campus Handshake platform to research the companies who will be in attendance at the career fair. Consider what positions you are interested in and what type of company culture they reflect. Then, take down notes and use those notes at the career fair.
Why is it important that students should go to the career fair?
All students should go to the Career Fair because it is the easiest way for them to make an interpersonal connection with an employer.
Applying to numerous internships or jobs online without your face and personality is very tiring and tough. The Career Fair allows students to meet the employer and build a rapport with that employer. After all, the employers at the Career Fair are looking to hire iSchool students—that’s why they are there.
Students who go to the Career Fair are going to be offered interviews right there on the spot and so it benefits students to go to get noticed. Also, students who may be a freshman or sophomore can go to simply meet the recruiters and start cultivating a professional relationship with them. So when they return for the spring Career Fair or following fall, they will be well-prepared to be hired. Most of our students have earned their internships and jobs from attending the career fair.
Which companies will be there?
All of the companies – over 100 employers! – that will be in attendance at the Career Fair are posted on our campus Handshake platform. Some of the employers signed up include:
- Bank of America
- Deloitte
- Epic
- EY
- Fidelity Investments
- Goldman Sachs
- KPMG
- National Grid
- Oracle
- Synchrony Financial
