New Year, New Member

Greetings everyone, my name is Eugene and I’m the newest member to join My Life @ Riddle blogger team. I’m a junior majoring in Aeronautical Science with minors in international relations and airline operations. I’m currently an instrument rated private pilot working on my commercial pilot license.

I’m from Seoul, South Korea. It’s a country in East Asia next to Japan and China, and I’m proud to call it home. We are famous for K-Pop and Samsung, and it takes about 14 hours to fly there from the east coast.

Seoul

In my spare time, I like to stay active, so I enjoy running, kayaking or going to the beach on a nice, sunny day. I enjoy reading which seems to be a fading hobby. I keep myself busy by picking up new projects and hobbies, and I try my best to keep my mind off school work and flying when I need to de-stress.

I always wanted to study international relations and foreign affairs by majoring in a political science degree. My goal was to work in the field of diplomacy and possibly end up with a career in the embassy. Fast forward to my junior year of high school, I was introduced to Riddle when a university representative from the school came to talk to us about college application. It was the only school I applied to that had a pilot training program. Fast forward few more years, I’m now a year away from graduating while studying international relations that is offered as a minor.

My short-term career goal is to become a flight instructor here at Embry-Riddle upon graduation. I’ll get a chance to teach and help eager student pilots earn their way towards getting their certificates and ratings. My long-term career goal is to work my way into the regional airlines and start building my airline career to end up with in a major airline in the long run.

I used to write personal blogs about traveling and flying in my freshman year of university, so I’m very excited to join the team to share about my flying experience here at Embry-Riddle as well as my traveling / college stories!

Inside the cockpit of a Delta Air Line’s A350-900 on my way back to Inchon, Korea from Atlanta, GA

Last Minute Career Expo Tips

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! For those of you who are attending the Industry/Career Expo, I have prepared a few last minute tips that you can use before, during and after the event!

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I got my Fast Pass!

Before
Here is a list of things you can do before the event:

Fast Pass pick up: Today is the last day to get your Fast Pass early to avoid long lines at the day of the event. Stop by Career Services with your Eagle Card to get your Fast Pass. It just takes a few seconds!

Download the Embry-Riddle Career Fair Plus app: The app is available on Google Play and the iTunes App Store. You will have access to the list of employers, which includes their company description, the job positions available, and any type of work authorizations required. The app also offers a map of the fair so you will not get lost the day of the event.

Do some research: Get to know the companies you are interested in working for. Navigate on their websites to know what jobs are currently offered and what are the requirements. Review the job requirements and qualifications. Companies want you to show them that you are interested in working for their company.

Review your resume: Take a look at your resume one last time to make sure that it is properly formatted and free of spelling errors. Click here for resume tips!

Practice interviews: Practice your elevator speech that you will use to introduce yourself to the employers. Make good impression. Additionally, get together with a friend and simulate an interview. Practice answering questions about the company or about the position you would like to work for. If you are applying for a particular position, go look on Glassdoor to see if there are any sample interview questions. Click here for other interviewing tips and sample questions!

Attend the info sessions: You should attend the information sessions of the companies you are interested in. From past experience, many of them gives you important tips such as how to approach an employer and how to shake hands. Below is the schedule of the Company Information Sessions prior to the Industry/Career Expo.

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Spring 2017 Company Info Sessions


On Site
Dress Code: During the event, you should look professional. You should wear clean, pressed business attire and be properly groomed.

What to bring?: You should bring your EagleCard, a notepad/portfolio to take notes and to hold copies of your resumes, a list of the companies you are interested in, and business cards.


After
Following the event, you may want to send thank you notes to the employers you had significant interaction with or whom you interviewed with.

It’s definitely okay if you don’t get an interview during your first year of college. I used my first time at the Expo as practice. I did not get any interviews, but I went to talk to the various recruiters to get more information. You can ask them what the company is looking for to hire students. They are usually looking for extra curricular activities, clubs and past work experience. Use the following year to boost up your resume!

Hope this helps!

Nicolas

Spring Industry/Career Expo Calendar Unveiled

Last week, Career Services published its calendar of activities and events to prepare students for the Spring 2017 Industry/Career Expo. The event, which brings more than 100 companies to campus, will take place on March 1, 2017.

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*All rooms are subject to change

You should take advantage of what Embry-Riddle has to offer to successfully prepare its students for the event. As you can see, most of the events will happen in February. At the beginning of February, there will be a few RefreshER presentations that will go over resumes, expo tips, interviewing and elevator speech and engaging employers. On Fridays, a few Career Services advisors will be available in the Student Center during lunch for quick questions and for resume reviews. There are other workshops that will only take place once during the month, such as the Portfolio Workshop and the LinkedIn Workshop.

Do you want to know the steps on how to be well prepared for the Industry/Career Expo? Check my Preparing for the Industry/Career Expo blog!

As we get closer to March 1, 2017, Career Services will publish the Company Info Sessions schedule. The sessions are usually held the two days preceding the Industry/Career Expo.

If you have misplaced your pass (from the Fall semester) to access the Expo or if you are a new student to the university, then you can get your pass starting on February 2 between 8:00 and 17:00 in the Career Services office.

Good luck on all your work preparation!

Nicolas

Industry/Career Expo Reminders

The Industry/Career Expo is less than a week away! It is the time of the year where more than 100 companies come on campus to recruit students for co-ops, internships, and full-time positions. The event will be held at the ICI on Thursday, October 6 between 09:00 and 16:00. I’m taking this time to give you a few reminders about the annual event.

Fast Pass pick up: Get your Fast Pass early to avoid long lines a the day of the event. It just takes a few seconds! Until October 5, stop by Career Services with your Eagle Card to get your Fast Pass.

Download the Embry-Riddle Career Fair Plus app: The app is available on Google Play and the iTunes App Store. You will have access to the list of employers, which includes their company description, the job positions available, and any type of work authorizations required. The app also offers a map of the fair so you will not get lost the day of the event.

Do some research: Get to know the companies you are interested in working for. Navigate on their websites to know what jobs are currently offered and what are the requirements. Review the job requirements and qualifications. Companies want you to show them that you are interested in working for their company.

Review your resume: Take a look at your resume one last time to make sure that it is properly formatted and free of spelling errors.

Practice interviews: Get together with a friend and simulate an interview. Practice answering questions about the company or about the position you would like to work for.

Attend the info sessions: You should attend the information sessions of the companies you are interested in. From past experience, many of them gives you important tips such as how to approach an employer and how to shake hands. Below is the schedule of the Company Information Sessions prior to the Industry/Career Expo.

overall-expo-company-info-sessions

Don’t wait until the day before: Be well prepared and don’t wait the night before the Expo to complete all the items mentioned above. If you are not sure about something and have a question, contact Career Services by phone at 386 226-6053 or by email at careers@erau.edu.

Click here to get the full list on how to successfully prepare for the Industry/Career Expo.

Good luck!

Nicolas

Preparing for the Industry/Career Expo

Are you interested at an internship, co-op, or full-time job opportunity? If yes, you should definitely attend this year’s Industry/Career Expo! The event will take place on Thursday October 6, 2016 between 09:00 and 16:00 at the ICI Center. The Industry/Career Expo is open to all Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students and alumni.

Delta Air Lines MD90 on takeoff roll at Daytona Beach International Airport. (Credits: Nicolas Bernier)

A Delta Air Lines MD90 on takeoff roll at Daytona Beach International Airport. (Credits: Nicolas Bernier)

All major airlines of the United States will be there including Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Many aircraft manufacturers will attend the event such as The Boeing Company, Embraer, Gulfstream, Piper, and Textron. There will also be various flight schools, aircraft suppliers, and government organizations. Click here for the complete list of registered companies.

How to prepare?

  • Do some research about the employers you are interested in working for. Go and visit their websites to learn more about what they do and what types of candidates they are looking for.
  • Get your resume reviewed a few weeks before by the Career Services Office. Don’t wait until the last minute as they are very busy. Click here for resume tips!
  • Practice your elevator speech that you will use to introduce yourself to the employers. You should briefly describe yourself by saying your name and major and also your strengths, past achievements, and career interests related to the organization.
  • Practice interviewing before you come to the event. The Career Services Office offers mock interviews for current students and alumni within one year of graduation who are interested on working on their interview skills. Click here for interviewing tips and sample questions!
  • During the event, you should look professional. You should wear clean, pressed business attire and be properly groomed.
  • You should bring your EagleCard, a notepad/portfolio to take notes and to hold copies of your resumes, a list of the companies you are interested in, and business cards.
  • Following the event, you should send thank you notes to the employers you had significant interaction with or whom you interviewed with.

For more information about the event and how to successfully prepare for it, please visit the Career Services webpage.

Until next time!

Nicolas

Halfway There

We are right in the middle of the semester! As much as I love school, I’m about ready for the summer! It’ll be nice to go back to working full time and to spend time with friends and family.photo45

As you probably expect, things have been quite busy lately. I’ve had tests in all of my classes this week or will next week, and so far, everything has gone well. Sometimes these weeks can be difficult, but if one uses their time wisely and doesn’t wait to study the night before, things will go well.

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The front entrance into The Lodge at JetBlue University

I’ve also been adjusting to my new job in Career Services. The more time I spend there, the more I learn about the department, and when you come to campus, it is one department that I highly recommend you start building a relationship with. The advisors as well as the office have so many resources, advice, and experience to provide, and it’ll definitely come in handy when applying for internships.

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Jack Harty and former JetBlue CEO David Barger

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to go to the grand opening of The Lodge as JetBlue’s Orlando Support Center (where they conduct training and orientation for more than 7,000 people every year). The Lodge is a hotel for the employees that come to Orlando for long periods of time in the middle of training. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the employees at JetBlue!

Now, I’m off to Aruba on Friday to fly on Southwest’s first international flight into Houston Hobby Airport. There will definitely be a full report coming soon! (It’s quite fun to still work as a journalist part time 🙂 ).

Blue skies,

Jack