Think Green! Please do not print unless absolutely necessary Career Fair Preparation and VERSION 1.0 Follow-up Guide October 2013
Dear NSBE Family, On behalf of the National Finance Committee, I present the 3 rd Annual Career Fair Preparation and Follow-Up Guide. The second tenant of our mission statement tasks us to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers that succeed professionally. Consequently, this guide is designed to provide tips and guidance for our NSBE Jr., Collegiate and Professionals members seeking professional opportunities so that all of our members can get the most from the Fall Regional Conference (FRC) Career Fairs. If you have ever asked yourself, How can I get a job?, What will I do when I get the job?, or Now that the job is completed, what do I do now? the Career Fair is the right place to come to. During the 2013 Summer Board of Corporate Affiliates Meeting, NSBE s top corporate and government strategic partners, a portion of the meeting called BCA Talk was a discussion about professional expectations that companies have of NSBE Members while recruiting. The three main points of the discussion were: Collegiate/NSBE Jr. Members should include their GPA on resumes and be prepared to talk honestly about it Be knowledgeable about the company being approached Display professional ambition, accountability, and thoroughness throughout the entire conference or convention Sincerely, Gabriel Draper National Finance Chair National Society of Black Engineers nebfinance@nsbe.org Page 2 of 14
Table of Contents Section I: Career Fair Preparation... 4 Prep your Documents:... 4 Dress for Success:... 4 Corporate Research:... 5 Relax:... 5 Section II: Resumes... 7 Key Elements that Professionals Look for in a Resume... 7 Resume Before... 9 Resume After... 10 Resume Reviews and Pro-tips... 11 Section III: Internships/ Co-Ops... 12 After you have gotten a job offer... 12 During your first day of work... 12 Throughout your Internship/Co-Op... 13 After your Internship/Co-Op... 14 Page 3 of 14
Section I: Career Fair Preparation Before anything else, preparation is the key to success - Alexander Graham Bell In order to best prepare for the fair, you must first put yourself in the shoes or a corporate representative. Ask yourself the question, if you were looking for someone to join your company, what would you want to see? Some aspects to consider are as follows: Prep your resume Do Your Research Dress for Success Relax! Prep your Documents: 1. Review your resume and cover letter and make sure they are up to date. 2. Take your resume and cover letter to your school s career center for final approval. 3. Make sure you have a good writing/project sample available. Dress for Success: Career fairs are strictly business professional environment, so it is imperative that you arrive in conservative attire. Men s Conservative Attire o Dark Suit (Navy Blue or Grey) Includes jacket, pants o Button Down Shirt with collar o Tie o Dress Shoes Women s Conservative Dress o Dark Suit (pant or skirt suit) Skirts should be at least knee length o Blouse and skirt/ pants Page 4 of 14
o Knee-length dress with sleeves/sweater o Flats or low heels Avoid loud colors or distracting designs, as you want the representative to be impressed by you, not what you are wearing. Additionally keep makeup and cologne/ perfume to a minimum. You don t want to overpower the recruiters with your fragrance. Hair should be kept neat and preferably tied away from the face. Take a minute to do some research about what constitutes appropriate business attire. Corporate Research: Most events publish information about which companies will be at their career fair at least a few days in advance. Once you receive that information, take a minute to research those companies online. Ensure that you have basic knowledge about the company by researching things such as: Who is their CEO? What is the mission and history of their company What products do they make, and what are they doing today? What jobs do they currently have available? It is also encouraged that you create an online profile on their corporate website prior to the career fair and take note of the job position numbers for positions that may interest you. Having an idea about where you would fit into an organization helps representatives know where to place you. Your preparation will also impress them and give you a higher chance of landing that interview! Relax: You just walked up to a corporate representative for a reputable engineering company now what?! Many students often freeze at this moment under the stress of not knowing what to say. Place yourself in the representative s shoes. If you were them, what would you want to hear? It s simple--start a conversation, they are people too! If you have done your research, feel free to take the time to ask them specific questions about the company or available opportunities. They normally will ask for your resume at this time. Feel free to elaborate on your previous experiences. You have done your preparation, so now is your time to shine! Page 5 of 14
Career Fair Preparation Timeline 2 months prior Prep your resume, cover letter and writing/ project samples. 6 weeks prior Upload your resume onto the NSBE Career Center 2 weeks prior Weekly 1 week prior Day before Career Fair Day of Career Fair Ensure you have business professional attire (have someone help you confirm that your attire is appropriate) Research companies that will be in attendance (Career Fair Organizers usually update their list of attending companies on a weekly basis) Review corporate research (try to commit some of the information to memory). Be prepared to highlight your strengths and identify potential opportunities that you'd prefer Relax and have good conversation! Page 6 of 14
Section II: Resumes Key Elements that Professionals Look for in a Resume So, young aspiring professional, you ve written out and memorized your elevator pitch, you ve picked out your most professional attire, and you re ready to hit the Career Fair floor! One problem.--you haven t updated your resume from the time you got your first summer job, and that could lower your chances of getting and interview or a job offer. No worries. We re here to help you keep your resume up to date. A resume is the most integral part of the job search process, as it is a professional snapshot companies use in order to decide if you re a good fit for their needs. It is the main tool used to sell yourself in the career world so it is of utmost importance that you make it as great as possible. That being said, here are the key Do s and Don ts to guide you on your resume writing journey! DO s and DON Ts DO Include a professional e-mail address on your resume. (lilbaby94@website.com is NOT a professional e-mail address) Include your GPA on resumes DON T Lie on your resume. Every item on the resume can be verified. If caught in lie your chances of being hired decrease exponentially if not to zero Be prepared to talk about your GPA, no matter what! Own it for what it is. o Low GPA? Explain why it is low, and what you have done/planning to do to raise it. o High GPA? Explain the success Use action words (Created, organized, increased, managed etc.) Tailor your resume to each company that you want to work for (to do this you can order your past experiences in order of RELEVANCE rather than DATE) Sell yourself! The point of your resume is to provide a brief glimpse into your life, make it interesting so that you stand out from the rest of the crowd. Exaggerate the numbers of your GPA, for example, don t round up, or imply a different GPA from the one stated on your resume Include outdated information on your resume (your middle school babysitting job shouldn t be on your resume) Become flustered under criticism or feedback. This feedback is necessary to increase your marketability, and helps to remove problems you may have missed, so use it well Become stagnant with your resume; take advantage of opportunities to improve. Page 7 of 14
Now that you know the Do's and Don'ts for a professional resume, let's look at an example of both a resume that needs some improvement, and an impressive resume. Following the examples, we ll discuss why the first resume is considered mediocre and the second as impressive. Page 8 of 14
Resume Before Page 9 of 14
Resume After Page 10 of 14
Resume Reviews and Pro-tips Why is the first resume so mediocre? the objective statement is very generic and non-specific, this wouldn't catch the eyes of a recruiter the GPA number is exaggerated because it is rounded up the resume does not include any internship or co-op work experiences the student chose to focus more on research experience rather than professional experience the student has included work experience at a department store, but this type of work experience is not applicable for career interviews (as a graduating senior); such work experience is fine as a freshman/sophomore, but not as a junior/senior, the student is a member in each of the organizations listed under campus involvement, and not in any position of leadership (i.e. executive board member, committee chair) the descriptions for each of the organizations are generic; it doesn't include any description of how the student contributed to the success of the organization the resume includes grammar errors (in red) Why is the second resume so impressive? the objective statement is very specific and detailed; employer will view the student as someone who knows what they want and knows how they can bring value to the company the GPA is accurate and not rounded although the student has below a 3.0, the student has notable accomplishments that may account for the low GPA the student is very knowledgeable about her field of studies as shown under technical expertise the technical expertise portion of resume is very well organized and easy to read the student has received outstanding awards and has internship and co-op experience the resume does not have any grammar errors the student is selling herself through her resume and making herself very marketable; this resume reflects a well-rounded, intelligent student with plenty of engineering-related work experience Page 11 of 14
Section III: Internships/ Co-Ops After you have gotten a job offer DO 1. Make a concrete decision on whether you want to accept the offer 2. Sign and return your official offer letter 3. Send a thank you letter to your interviewer (even if you don t get the job offer you should send a thank you letter) 4. Start looking at housing options for your internship/co-op 5. Plan travel arrangements to and from internship/co-op location 6. Show up on your first assigned day of work 7. Network with other students/nsbe members who will be working at the same company DO\N T 1. Accept the offer and then change your mind because a better offer came along 2. Accept the offer if you cannot meet the requirements (length of employment, citizenship, drug test) 3. Attempt to negotiate the terms of your employment unless absolutely necessary 4. Wait until the last minute to find housing 5. Expect the company to provide housing or assistance with finding housing UNLESS specifically stated in the terms of employment/offer letter 6. Miss assigned dates for orientation, training, or work During your first day of work DO 1. Show up 15 minutes early if that means a dry run of the route you will take to work the day before, so be it 2. Show up dressed professionally business suit for men, business or pants suit for women 3. Show up with the capability to take notes a nice notepad and pen set is the best way to go 4. Greet your manager with a firm handshake (women included) people always respect a handshake while looking them in the eye 5. Get a feel for the work culture and expectations starting/ending hours, lunch time and duration, interaction with co-workers 6. Remain professional with everyone you meet remember you are being judged from the moment you walk in the door until the time you leave Page 12 of 14
DON T 1. Show up late you only get one first impression 2. Show up underdressed allow your manager to dictate whether you should dress down or not 3. Use your ipad to take notes during meetings people may question if you are paying attention to them or multitasking 4. Leave your cell phone ringer on keep your phone on silent in meetings and on vibrate any other time while at work 5. Give your manager or co-workers dap, a pound, or a limp handshake of course you don t want to rip their arm off either, try to exude confidence not cockiness 6. Get too comfortable with co-workers, even the ones you already know from home/school/church/greek life your homeboy already has a job, you are auditioning for one Throughout your Internship/Co-Op DO 1. Make sure you understand how your performance will be evaluated 2. Develop other networks besides your NSBE/school connections these professional contacts will come in handy when you need recommendations 3. Learn how to golf Many business deals and relationships are built over 18 holes, and you want to be amongst those with the authority to make decisions 4. Invest in your company s 401k matching plan not only is it free money, you are reducing your taxable income and your Expected Family Contribution from financial aid 5. Start to build your wardrobe Now is a good time to invest in at least one quality suit and a pair of business shoes (wingtips or pumps) 6. Save money for a rainy day You won t earn engineering internship money year-round, so plan for the lean times 7. Maintain consistency throughout your tenure be the same person that the company made the decision to hire 8. Manage your social media usage Learn and leverage LinkedIn to build professional connections 9. Perform a high standard of work Your reputation and full-time job offer depends on it, no company wants to hire someone who another company decided not to bring back for a second internship DON T 1. Forget that you were hired to determine if you can perform tasks AND fit into the company culture don t become the office hermit or the social butterfly, find a happy balance between working and socializing Page 13 of 14
2. Spend all of your money eating out interns love to eat lunch at Benihana and dinner at Morton s, not a good look when you are eating ramen noodles the rest of the year 3. Embarrass yourself or your company by saying something stupid on social media remember that you are always on, and companies do pay attention to what you do and say during your personal time After your Internship/Co-Op DO 1. Offer your manager constructive feedback giving your positive experiences and areas of improvement (not negatives) show your insight and willingness to contribute to the organization, and helps the manager improve as well 2. Keep in touch with your former manager and co-workers they may be the hiring manager who makes the decision on your candidacy in the future 3. Declare your interest in staying in the company s hiring pipeline companies prefer to hire form their intern pool, for some it is their sole source of collegiate hiring DON T 1. Bad-mouth the company (ever) even if the experience is not positive, the next company you interview for does not want to hear about how terrible your previous manager was 2. Assume that the company will hire you next year you should have a feel for the company s opinion of you through either written (performance evaluation) or verbal communication Page 14 of 14