Hey everyone! If you’ve been paying any attention, you know that UMBC’s Spring Career Fair is this Friday. And if you haven’t, now you know. It’ll be from 11:30-3:30 in the RAC. Be sure to stop by dressed in business professional and with a few copies of your resume. If you want a longer guide, check out my post from last Fall on what to do before, during, and after the fair. . But this time I’m going to talk about something a little different: why each and every one of you should come to the Career Fair.

If you want a job or internship the answer is kind of obvious. Come apply for jobs! But before you do, make sure you have a good resume. We have online resources on our website, or you can come in and see us in person. Make an appointment or come to drop in hours any weekday from 2 pm - 4 pm. Also look at the Career Fair directory online and decide which companies you want to target. The day of the fair, make it a priority to go to their booths first.

If you have a job or internship look at the Career Fair as an opportunity to practice networking with very few repercussions. You don’t have to worry about getting a job, so a lot of the pressure is off! See it as a chance to talk with hiring managers and professionals in your field, although be sure to tell them that you aren’t looking for employment at this time. And of course, stop by our LinkedIn head shot booth so your picture looks as good as your experience.

If you don’t feel qualified for a job or internship you’re probably wrong (and I mean that in the nicest way possible). Internships are designed for people with little to no experience. If you’re worried that your resume doesn’t have enough content, come see us at drop-ins! We’ll help you showcase what you have. If you feel like you haven’t learned enough, that's okay too. Most employers don’t expect interns to know much at all! You’ll spend a good portion of your time as an intern learning both technical and professional skills. Come to the fair and check out the employers that will be marked “Freshman Friendly.” They are open to people with less experience and happy to take on an intern and train them to do the job right!

Welcome, or welcome back, to UMBC! To most, 90-degree weather and steadfastly green trees don’t really feel like the beginning of the school year, but believe it or not, here we are. I hope you’re at least a tiny bit excited for your new semester.

I’m always torn between excitement and stress. I filled my calendar with due dates and exams, but looking at it makes me realize how much I have to do. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Emily, a third-year computer science major with minors in Mandarin and creative writing. I work as a Career Peer Advisor here at the UMBC Career Center, and this year I’m going to be handling our weekly blog posts. At the Career Center, we specialize in getting you all jobs, and more important than that, a job you might actually enjoy. Have no idea what field to go into? We have tools and appointments for that. Need a summer internship? We have specialists to guide you along the way. Want to have an internship showcased on your transcript? We do that too. Stop by the second floor of Math and Psych any weekday from 2 pm- 4 pm to get resumes reviewed, UMBCworks questions answered, and cover letters edited.

Now before you launch straight into classwork, it’s helpful to take time and evaluate what you did over the summer. Service projects you completed, jobs you had, internship experience, it can all be useful when redoing a resume. And I know that those summer experiences look different for everyone, so I’ll try and break it down a little.

If you had a job or internship, there are a few important things to do before you forget everything in the haze of school projects. First, add the experience to your resume. If you’re not sure how exactly to do that, we have tons of resume examples on our website. Second, consider reaching out to your direct supervisor. Thank them for an informative summer and generally explain how much the experience meant to you. This is a great way to accumulate references for your next application.

If you had a job or internship not related to what you’re studying, the two steps above are also very important to you. I know it might not seem like it, but by maintaining a summer job, you’re cultivating professionalism and work ethic that will help you in your field for years to come. While you’re editing your resume, think about any skills you gained that might transfer to the field you want to work in. Maybe as an office assistant, you got a lot of experience with spreadsheets. Maybe as a retail worker, you helped organize schedules and shifts so that your colleagues stayed happy. These all look wonderful in a job description.

If you didn't work over the summer,there are still a lot of thing to consider. Volunteer experience, extracurriculars, new computer skills, and personal projects in your field of study are all important to have on resumes. Take a few minutes, brainstorm a list of your accomplishments, then take a look our career guide to figure out how to showcase what you did.

Here at the Career Center, we also had a productive summer. We have a new resource for students: Big Interview. Sign in with your UMBC login and you have access to their database of interview questions. You can even record yourself answering interview questions and get feedback from a Career Center team member through email. It’s a great practice tool for those who get a little nervous while interviewing.

Now that your summer is all summarized (see what I did there), you’re ready to hit the ground running. There are lots of big and exciting things coming up, from the Career Fair, to On the Roads with companies like Morgan Stanley, to panels with representatives from T. Rowe Price. Till next week, I’m your friendly neighborhood Career Peer. I wish you all a smooth start to the semester, and I hope we see you soon!