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

And so it begins….

After completing my second and final day of orientation, I cannot help but to sit here and think about all the possibilities that lay ahead of me this summer. As an intern with American Airlines, I will be based at the American Airlines Flight Academy in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas this summer. Working on projects and issues that arise throughout the summer, I will also be traveling throughout the United States and some of the islands in the Caribbean. This summer is sure to be filled with much hard work as well as many unforgettable memories. Seeing how I just got started here in Dallas and I’m still learning the ropes, I will use this week to let you know how I got here in case you ever want to do an internship at this level.

Securing and internship, especially with a large company like American Airlines, takes a lot of time, preparation, and persistence. I began looking for internships the end of the fall 2007 semester, and was unsuccessful in my attempt to secure a Spring 2008 internship with the Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. As disappointed as I was, I made sure to remain positive and continue my search in the spring.

In early January I began to compile a list of potential companies. After talking with Career Services and creating an account on Eagle Hire, I realized the vast potential that lay ahead of me. To narrow the playing field, I looked for companies I felt would be a good fit for me and also companies that advertised paid internship positions (let’s be honest, all college kids could use a little extra cash.) With my goal to become a corporate pilot, naturally all the big corporate names made it on to my list, including Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola. However, being raised to always have a back up, and not knowing how difficult it would be to get a position, I included other companies such as Duke Energy, Hendrick Motorsports and Day Jet to my list of possibilities. Out of shear random luck I also included American Airlines to my list, because they had a few paid positions available, something that had been rather difficult to find among airline internships.

Beginning the application process, I then had letters of recommendation and cover letters drafted up and my resume perfected. Some companies also required an official transcript and driving record, both of which take several days to receive. It is important to look at the application deadline and give yourself some time in order to get your paperwork together.

With my bait in the water it became a waiting game to see what would bite. After a couple weeks of silence we learned that the Proctor and Gamble internship had been withdrawn for the summer. A few days later, things began to happen. One day I received an e-mail from American, requesting a face-to-face interview. Then, the next day, I received a call from Duke Energy requesting a phone interview. The Duke phone interview was completely HR based and led to a face-to-face interview, which was over an hour and a half technical interview, one of the most intense experiences of my life. The American Interview was very straightforward, a couple HR questions and a few technical questions.

Within a week I had been declined from Duke and accepted by American for the summer. With Embry-Riddle policy being that once an internship is accepted no other offers may be accepted, I thought about the other potential opportunities that were still on the table. With such an opportunity with American Airlines, I thought it foolish to decline the invitation and so I accepted it. Looking back, this was a great choice for many reasons. As it turned out Coca-Cola pulled out and Hendricks still hadn’t made a decision by the time the semester was over, all of these instances are great examples of the need to have backups in life.

So here I am sitting in my airline pilot “crash pad” (a residence that will be the topic of a future journal entry I assure you) in Dallas, Texas as a paid intern with American Airlines. The road getting to this point was a little bit bumpy and had you told me that I would be in this position back in January I most likely would have laughed at you. However, right now I know that this was the best opportunity there was for me this summer, it just sort of fits and it’s funny how it works out that way sometimes.

This summer I will be working in the Flight Communications department of the Flight Academy. At this point I’m still not exactly sure what my job will entail but as I learn more, I will share with you what is going on here. If you have any questions throughout my internship please feel free to send me an e-mail at velkyba8@erau.edu and if I get the opportunity I will do my best to get back to you with an answer or share the question on my next entry.

Cheers,

Jacob Velky