Mississippi State University has one of the leading career centers in the Southeast, and today the Humphrey Coliseum hosts a Career Fair from noon until 4 p.m. I reccommend that even if you have only an hour of spare time, go down to the Hump and talk to the employers who provide valuable information about their respective companies. Besides, if you need pens or want other cool gizmos, that is the place to get them.
All jokes aside, college is not about partying every night or having a good social life. It’s about getting the education you will need to have a fruitful career.
Making contacts is the first step, and with over a hundred companies recruiting at the fair, today gives you the perfect opportunity to meet the recruiters and get business cards.
Just a few years ago, recruiters would look for GPAs first on a resume. Well, times have changed, and employers want people who have work experience.
They want an employee who can function in the professional environment and who can be easily trained to fit the staffing needs of the organization. Graduates with work or co-op experience have a higher probability of receiving a job offer than those without experience. There are plenty of 4.0 graduate students still in school because the employers see they have no work experience and overlook them. This probably does not apply to a research scientist who will be stuck in a lab all day running tests, but students like myself, an industrial engineering major, will have to have the experience and “people skills” necessary to interact with lay personnel in a factory. These skills can only be developed on the job-not in a classroom.
The search for your first job out of college should begin 12-18 months before graduation. Again, use the great people over at the career center. Stop by the center, register and pick up brochures on how to properly prepare a resume. The career center staff gives mock interviews that will help you sharpen your communication and interviewing skills. They will take your resume, critique it and help you make it as presentable as possible.
The career center staff can also explain the ever-changing items recruiters are looking for on resumes.
Once your resume is honed to perfection, the center’s computer system can help you find the right company for you to interview with on campus. The system is also linked with other worldwide job search engines that will also help you in the search of that first job.
Seniors, if you have not registered with the career center, do so as soon as possible. The labor market we will see in May and August is one of the tightest in recent times.
This time last year, graduates had offers running out of their ears and different signing bonuses being put on the table to entice them to join a particular company’s team. With the downturn of the economy and the Sept. 11 attack, the 2002 graduates will be lucky to get relocation allowances, or even a job offer. So you have to be very competitive.
If your GPA is too low or if you have interest in a particular company you could not preselect for in the university system, attend their preinterview session.
Explain your situation and give them a resume. If you have the job experience or some attribute they like on your resume, they just might give you a slot or put you on call for the next day’s interviews.
You need to look professional for the interview. Dress is business casual, so no jeans or T-shirts-khaki pants and a collared shirt are a good example for men, and a skirt or pants and a blouse for women. The staff in career services can guide you in choosing an outfit to buy for the interviews.