The Career Fair- Susan Jankiewicz (junior, Industrial Engineering)

So now you’ve decided you wanted to major in engineering, what’s next? Where are you going to work after you graduate? Well it may be a little early to know that especially if you’re still a senior in high school. An internship or a co-op is a great way to see what it is like in the real world and seeing how what you are learning in school is applied in the workplace. Internships typically occur for 10-12 weeks during the summer, while co-ops may consist of one long 6 month rotation or several shorter rotations at the same company. It may seem daunting to start to research the companies that you may want to work at, but there is a much easier way to do this, by attending a Penn State Career Fair. For engineers, there are the big Career Fairs occurring once each semester, an Engineering career fair in February, and specific career fairs for most of the engineering majors.

This past February 16^th it was time once again for the career fair held in the Bryce Jordan Center, where over 300 employers were slated to attend. This number is no surprise since the Wall Street Journal reported that Penn State is the number one school employers want to recruit at. When I went to the career fair for the first time during my freshmen year, I was in awe of the size and was very nervous to talk with the professionals. I highly recommend starting to go during your freshman year since the more you talk with employers, the more comfortable you will get.

How do you successfully land an interview? It’s all about the confidence. First, you should have several copies of your resume printed on resume paper. During your freshman and sophomore years it is fine to have high school activities and side jobs, but you want to include any big team projects as soon as you can. Next, research all the companies that you want to talk to at the fair. Check out this website for the recruiters that were present for this past career fair:

https://psu-csm.symplicity.com/events/students.php?cf=scd11.

This research shows the recruiters that you really are interested in their company. For example, at this past career fair I was talking with a recruiter from Gore. He asked what I knew about Gore and I told him that I was interested in the medical devices division. He was impressed that I knew that since most people would answer with their popular product Gore Tex. Finally, it is all about the smile and the handshake. Make sure you have a firm handshake as you introduce yourself. You may find you have something in common with the recruiter. One of the recruiters that I met had graduated from the Industrial Engineering program a few years earlier and even had some of the same professors as I did. It is definitely a lot easier to talk with someone who has some kind of common ground. The next day I was asked to interview with both of these companies. With these simple steps, you will surely land some interviews, but more importantly make sure you sell yourself!