Let me start off by saying I have never seen so many resumes before in my life!
This past week was Embry-Riddle’s Fall 2015 Career Expo! Everyone on campus was wearing their most professional attire, printing out their neat resumes, and carrying around leather-bound notepads. There were well-known engineering companies there, like NASA, Gulfstream, Rolls Royce, Rockwell Collins, and Boeing, along with plenty of airlines. In other words, it was a Riddle students dreamland.
This was my first time attending the Career Expo on campus, so it was definitely a new experience and I was a bit nervous. I tried to assemble my nicest outfit to give the impression that I was older than a sophomore in college and put as many engineering projects on my resume as I could. Let me also include that during this week I also caught the cold that was going around campus, so lucky me!
Me and my Sigma sister, Frankie, at the Career Expo!
I started off the Career Expo by attending as many info sessions as my schedule would permit. I talked to some people at Gulfstream’s Mix & Mingle, and then attended GE Aviation’s info session later that night. This was a great idea because I learned more about these companies and what they wanted from their internship and co-op candidates!
The next day was the real thing! This was when the companies gathered in the ICI Center and set up their booths. For some companies there were lines all the way down to the door! My friend Matt and I both walked around the Expo together, telling each other about the companies we wanted to talk to and giving each other moral support. I talked to GE Aviation, RocaTech Solutions, Textron, and The Spaceship Company. This was a great experience for me because I got to work on my people skills, talking to complete strangers about my engineering experience and where I wanted to go in the industry.
At the end of the Career Expo, I came out (somewhat) victorious! I received a call later that night from GE Aviation and they told me that they wanted to interview me the next day. I almost freaked out at just the chance of being interviewed by such an amazing aviation company! During my interview with them, we talked about Orientation Team and icebreakers, and also about my experience in Haiti and what mangoes were. My interviewer had me describe what a mango was because he said he was a “Doritos” kind of guy. Overall, I think the interview went extremely well! In about a week or so, I will know whether or not I will be GE Aviation’s newest intern!
Fingers crossed!!
