The start of the spring semester is quickly approaching and I hope that everyone has rested up during Winter Break. Being home is great, but it sure is nice to get back to college life after a few weeks away from it!
In my last article I talked about not limiting yourself to a preset, engineering mold. There are countless career avenues in today’s job market so do not be afraid to venture off your perceived path to see what all is out there. You may just find something unexpected and exciting.
For my final topic I want to talk about having a good mindset when interviewing. All of you have had at least one interview in your life. I know this because in was part of the application to become a Fellow. Interviews can be rigorous but with proper preparation, they can be an enjoyable experience. The hardest part about the interview should be getting asked to do it. Selling yourself on a single sheet of paper is hard but if you get asked to interview, clearly you have done a good job. This should make you less nervous because the company interviewing you already has interest in you. The next part is to realize that an interview is a conversation with a give and take. I find it best to stay flexible through the process and ask questions as you go. Always go in with prepared questions about the company’s current status as a backup but hopefully you will not have to use them. Make sure to sell yourself and demonstrate that you would be a valuable asset to the company, but also probe the interviewers. And if you’re lucky, you can flip the interview and the company will be trying to sell the internship to you.
Take advantage of any mock interviews that are on campus to understand the general setup of the interview process, do your research of companies prior to career fairs and interviews and establish connections to employees of the company you are interested in. All of these steps can help to better your chances at landing an internship or your first career!
I want to let you all know that as the SELF Program continues to grow and more students graduate and move on to careers, your personal network grows with it. The alumni of this program want to hear from you when you have questions regarding industries, internships, careers or school. We have been in your shoes and are more than willing to help you on your journey. You never know, you may have to interview with us one day!
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need anything. I hope to see you all on campus in the spring and look forward to seeing all the great things that Self Program will do in its future!
Best wishes,
Drew Robinson