2016 SWE/TBP Career Fair Guide

September 19 - 20 A Resource Guide to Make the Most of Your Career Fair Experience

Hello Fellow Wolverines, We are super excited for the 2016 SWE/TBP Career Fair and we hope you are too! There will be around 370 companies attending this year’s fair and we are confident it will be a success.

This is the 3rd year for the Resource Guide, and we aim to provide a one stop guide with information about key dates, advice, and tips to help you make the most of our career fair.

This guide includes information from recruiters, the Engineering Resource Center, and fellow students. Hopefully this guide helps make the Career Fair less daunting and enhances your experience.

The weeks prior to the fair can be stressful and overwhelming. Right now you are probably cleaning up your resume, editing your cover letter, and rehearsing your elevator speech. We know exactly how you feel, as we are looking for jobs too. However, we are enthusiastic about the fair and the companies attending this year. These recruiters have traveled from all over the country and are very eager to hire talented Michigan Engineers like you!

Organizing and directing the 32nd Annual SWE/TBP Career Fair has been an amazing experience, and we wish you the best of luck! Go out and

“Find the Key to Your Success!”

The 2016 Career Fair Directors, Alexa Cichon, TBP Eve Gendron, SWE Christine Joseph, SWE Phillip Yang, TBP

Produced by: Design by: Madalyn Purcell 2

Sponsored by:

Secrets to Success from Recruiters 1

Research the companies you want to speak with. Have a general understanding of the company’s industry before speaking with recruiters during the fair.

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Have a clear idea of what you are looking for. Review your short-term and long-term goals to ensure that interest and desires will be met for both parties.

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Having a good GPA isn’t enough. Set yourself apart from others by getting involved in student organizations and having a leadership role that helps you grow and develop your “soft skills.”

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Dress for success! Looking and acting professionally shows recruiters that you are ready to work in a professional setting.

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Stay calm and be yourself. Having a calm dialogue can go a long way in creating a more natural conversation.

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Develop a concise and intriguing elevator speech. It’s a great way to introduce yourself and get your conversation off to a great start.

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Send a follow-up email to recruiters thanking them for their time.

This small guesture displays gratitude and professional kindness and can speak volumes of your character.

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Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t heard anything right after the career fair. It often takes several weeks for companies to contact you for an interview.

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Key Events Career Fair Dates: Monday, Sept 19 & Tuesday, Sept 20 Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: North Campus Grad Reception Date: Sunday, Sept 18 Time: 3:00 - 5:00 pm Location: GG Brown Atrium

Undergrad Reception Dates: Sunday, Sept 18 & Monday, Sept 19 Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm Location: EECS Atrium

SWE Professional Development Day Date: Sunday, Sept 18 Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Location: FXB Sign Up: $5 deposit in the SWE office (The Bullpen: 1226 EECS) Event Type: Resume critiquing, mock interviews, and seminars presented by companies such as Intel, Capital One, and Rockwell Foundation. Lunch & t-shirt will be provided. SWE members are prioritized, but all students in the College of Engineering can sign up.

September 2016

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Corporate Information Sessions SWE Tuesday, September 13 Whirlpool - 6:30 pm, 1003 EECS Thursday, September 15 NASA Marshall Space Flight Center - 6:00 pm Sunday, September 18 3M - 5:30 pm, 1014 DOW Pratt & Whitney - 6:00 pm Monday, September 19 Moog - 5:30 pm, 1940 Cooley NVIDIA - 5:30 pm Citrix - 6:00 pm, 1012 FXB Wednesday, September 21 NetSuite - 5:30 pm Jet Propulsion Lab - 5:30 pm, 1500 EECS Chevron - 6:00 pm, 2166 DOW Twilio - 6:00 pm

TBP

Monday, September 12 ZS Associates - 5:30 pm, 1017 DOW BASF - 6:00 pm, 2150 DOW General Electric - 6:30 pm, 1013 DOW Tuesday, September 13 Barr Engineering Co - 5:30 pm Whirlpool Corporation - 5:30 pm, 1690 BBB Fiat Chrysler Automobiles - 6:00 pm, 2150 DOW Cummins Inc. - 6:00 pm, 2505 GGBL Wednesday, September 14 Air Products - 6:30 pm, 1005 EECS Consumers Energy - 7:00 pm, 1006 EECS Thursday, September 15 General Mills - 5:30 pm, 1303 EECS The Lee Company - 6:00 pm, 1005 EECS Lear Corporation - 7:00 pm, 1003 EECS Monday, September 19 Uptake Technologies, Inc. - 5:30 pm, 2153 GGBL National Instruments - 6:00 pm, 1014 DOW Echelon Consulting LLC - 6:00 pm Exponent - 6:30 pm, 1570 DOW Tuesday, September 20 Textron - 5:30 pm, 1690 BBB Amazon - 5:30 pm, G906 Cooley Andressen Horowitz - 6:00 pm, 1003 EECS Citrix Systems Inc. - 7:00 pm, 1014 DOW Wednesday, September 21 Raytheon - 6:00 pm, 1005 EECS

The Engineering Career Resource Center (ECRC) will also be hosting a variety of events to help you prep for the Career Fair. These include company days, resume critiques, and seminars. Please visit http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/cal for a full calendar of all ECRC events.

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Preparing for the Fair Don’t Let Your Year Keep You From Going Attend the Career Fair even if you're a freshman or sophomore! There are plenty of companies willing to hire younger students.

- Olena Huang, TBP

Go to Short Lines if Looking for Your First Internship First Internship: Go to the short lines to maximize the number of companies you can visit. If there is a company you really want to visit that is popular/will likely have a long line, go really early or really late.

- Amanda Sugai, Career Fair Chair

Recruiters Attend Receptions GO TO RECEPTIONS! Seriously, if you're nervous about the Career Fair or just want a chance to get to speak with recruiters for more than 2 minutes during the fair, come! This is your opportunity to get to know recruiters on a personal level, find common interests, and make them remember you and save your resume during the fair! Recruiters are people so if you don't know where to begin a conversation ask them about themselves (major, which office the work in, if they have pets, hobbies, etc). Happy networking!

- Becca Cohn, 2015 Career Fair Director

Research, Research, Research Do your research on the companies you’d like to talk to. Find the position within the company you’d like to apply for and illustrate how your skill set will allow you to excel in that position.

- Grace Cravens, SWE

Update Your LinkedIn Make sure you keep your LinkedIn profile up to date. Connecting with recruiters through LinkedIn helps and throws a professional light on your interests. Also, generally people do check LinkedIn and how active you are to gauge your abilities. It doesn't hurt to walk this extra mile! LinkedIn is basically everything that you would want to put on your resume but couldn't because of lack of space!

- Devyani Kalvit, Career Fair Chair

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Advice for the Big Day Dress the Part You want to be professional and give off a great first impression, so dress the part.

Gentlemen: Suit and tie is the best way to go, or maybe break out that sweater vest, but make sure to wear a collared shirt.

Ladies: Suit coat is a plus with either a skirt or slacks, or pull out that power dress. Be mindful of neck lines and length of your skirts/dresses. Also avoid heels - they make for a painful day of walking and standing in lines.

Hand It Over You will be shaking a lot of hands on the day of the fair. Here are a few tips to a great first impression.

1. Make eye contact.

2. Firm but don’t over squeeze.

3. Timing is everything. Don’t make it too long or too short. Shake up and down 2-3 times. It should only last 2-3 seconds.

4. Illustrate your confidence by introducing yourself in a calm, cool, and collected manner. Make sure you speak loud and clear.

5. Sweaty palms are a no go. Keep some hand sanitizer on you or wash your hands before stepping in line. As a last resort, wipe your hand on your pants or skirt before stepping up to talk to a recruiter.

Attitude is Everything Be confident, interested, and don’t forget to smile. Recruiters won’t be concerned about you forgetting to turn in your homework or that you missed 3 blue busses to get to north campus, so put on that happy face. Stay calm, be patient, and let the real you shine through. Be enthusiastic and interested in their company and stay engaged.

Be Memorable Recruiters will be talking to thousands of students throughout the day, so make sure to make that connection. Connect with the recruiters on a personal note or try to make them laugh. Give something unique about yourself to make sure you’re memorable.

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Interview Tips Use sites like Glass Door to find out more about the companies and their interview techniques to gain insight of what type of interviews they conduct. Are they more technical or behavioral?

Talk to friends about what types of interviews they have had in the past. Even ask them to practice with you. You don’t have to have exact answers, but it gives you an idea what they will be like and will prepare you and help you stay calm.

Here are some example questions that are commonly asked: Why are you interested in working for us?

Why should I hire you?

What is your biggest strength/weakness?

Tell me about a challenge or conflict you faced & how did you dealt with it.

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

How do you handle stress or pressure?

Tell me about your leadership experiences.

What questions do you have for me?

STAR Method The STAR interview method is a common format used by recruiters to gather information about specific aspects that the job may require. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Results. These question often start with “Tell me about a time when….” To answer these questions follow the STAR method:

Situation: Explain the situation. The interviewer wants you to describe a challenging situation

you found yourself in.

Task: What did you need to achieve from this situation? What was the end goal?

Action: What did you do? How did you complete the task, why did you approach it that way, and what was the alternative?

Results: What was the final outcome? Were you able to achieve your goals? What did you learn?

Writing Your Elevator Speech Keep it short. It should only be 30-60 seconds.

Make sure to include your name, year, and major.

Follow these four topics to pull it all together: Skills: Include your experiences and skills you bring to the table.

Confidence: Show off your strengths & why you are a good fit for this type of job.

Goal: What are you looking to gain?

Motivation: Why you want to work there/what you want to gain.

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