3 answers
Braeden
Student
Caledonia, Minnesota
2
Questions
Asked
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How do you find the right internship at a career fair?
Trying to plan ahead to finding an engineering internship in college and wondering how you sort through all the options. All tips appreciated.
#engineering
#chemical-engineering
#career-planning
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3 answers
Nicole Baillie
Data Analyst
483
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Hi Braeden C. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you (or others who may read this response) is still helpful.
In my case, I was at a school career fair but I wasn't looking for an intership...I was looking for a job once I graduated. No pressure ;) Even though our searches may have been a little different, though, I think the approaches could be the same. Specifically, it helps if you have some understanding of the companies that will be at the fair. If you have this knowledge ahead of time, you can get a sense of your "cruising game plan". In other words, if you know what companies will be at the fair then you can spend a little time researching the ones that you have some interest in. Spending the time to do a little research is an added plus when you are talking to recruiters. It is helpful to applicants who are trying to distinguish themselves.
In addition to getting an idea of who will be at the career fair, I did my best to ensure that I had a stellar resume. As an added piece of advice, resumes are never done. There is always an opportunity to update them and/or to make them more impactful. In this digital age, I suspect walking around with a stack of your resumes is a little outdated but I would imagine that if you are attending a career fair, having a few on hand to leave with a recruiter wouldn't hurt.
I think another important piece to finding the right internship/job is making sure you have your "pitch" ready. What's your intro like? How comfortably are you at eye contact? What's the level and tone of your voice? What are you going to say that would get and keep a recruiter interested to learn more about you? If you have positive answers to these questions, then you are probably good to go for face-to-face engagement. But if you think you need a little practice, nothing wrong with taking the time to improve on areas where needed.
Hope you find this guidance helpful. Best of luck to you!
In my case, I was at a school career fair but I wasn't looking for an intership...I was looking for a job once I graduated. No pressure ;) Even though our searches may have been a little different, though, I think the approaches could be the same. Specifically, it helps if you have some understanding of the companies that will be at the fair. If you have this knowledge ahead of time, you can get a sense of your "cruising game plan". In other words, if you know what companies will be at the fair then you can spend a little time researching the ones that you have some interest in. Spending the time to do a little research is an added plus when you are talking to recruiters. It is helpful to applicants who are trying to distinguish themselves.
In addition to getting an idea of who will be at the career fair, I did my best to ensure that I had a stellar resume. As an added piece of advice, resumes are never done. There is always an opportunity to update them and/or to make them more impactful. In this digital age, I suspect walking around with a stack of your resumes is a little outdated but I would imagine that if you are attending a career fair, having a few on hand to leave with a recruiter wouldn't hurt.
I think another important piece to finding the right internship/job is making sure you have your "pitch" ready. What's your intro like? How comfortably are you at eye contact? What's the level and tone of your voice? What are you going to say that would get and keep a recruiter interested to learn more about you? If you have positive answers to these questions, then you are probably good to go for face-to-face engagement. But if you think you need a little practice, nothing wrong with taking the time to improve on areas where needed.
Hope you find this guidance helpful. Best of luck to you!
Anisha Mathur
Intern at Dell
3
Answers
Updated
Anisha’s Answer
Understand where your basic interests lie. Then go through the company profiles that they're hiring for and try finding about what work they do. Then shortlist the companies you liked and apply.
Simon Robson
Retired Engineering Manager
165
Answers
Greensboro, Georgia
Updated
Simon’s Answer
Find an engineering, construction or a manufacturing company. See how each of the companies make their products and how do they make improvements. An internship is a great way to understand engineering, product development, manufacturing and construction. You will have to start at the bottom, doing some possible meanial tasks, but all experience is good. Do a good job and more challenging tasks will come. Good luck.