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The Fall Career & Internship Fair is right around the corner! Come join us this Wednesday, September 21st any time between 11:30am-3:30pm at the RAC to meet 140 employers who are eager to engage with students from our UMBC community. In the days remaining, we have the following tips and recommendations for how to get the most out of your Career Fair experience.
Specifically, we want to show our True G.R.I.T to the employers so they know how impressive UMBC students are! To get G.R.I.T ready, you can follow these steps:
G - Get Your Facts! The purpose of a career fair is to practice your networking skills, connect with specific employers, and explore available opportunities. For this reason, we recommend that you review the employer directory prior to arrival at the Career Fair. Use this tool to identify employers of interest, especially those who are recruiting in your major to link up with those who will be a good match for your career interests. Also be sure to double check logistics such as the time and location to maximize your time at the Fair.
Plan to dress to impress in business casual or even business formal attire. However, don't let attire be a barrier to attendance - the goal is to make a good impression so wear something that makes you feel confident and you'll be off to a great start. Check out this link for some ideas.
R - Resume Ready! What does a "ready" resume look like? It includes contact information with a professional email address (such as your UMBC email) and highlights your education, skills, and experience. Check out some samples here. You will want to print out multiple copies of your resume to bring with you, along with pens and a note pad - or a way to take notes virtually - and something to collect business cards. You may want to leave heavy bags, backpacks, and coffee cups at home so your hands aren't full as you visit the employer's booths. Due to space limitations, we will not be able to store any of your belongings during the Career Fair.
If you have questions about your resume, come to Drop-In Hours at the Career Center every weekday (Monday - Friday) from 2-4pm to get your resume reviewed - no appointment needed!
You may also want to use this opportunity to try out your 30-second commercial. A 30-second commercial - or elevator pitch - is where you identify yourself, highlight a few strengths and accomplishments, and share your career goals - all in 30 seconds or less. Check out this link for additional guidance on crafting your pitch. You can also practice your pitch by using Big Interview. A good place to start is with the universal question: "Tell me about yourself."
I - In it to Win it! You arrive at the Fair - you're IN it! Now what? Keep in mind first impressions, eye contact, a firm handshake - and don't forget your confidence. Remember: health and safety are a first priority at the Career Fair, so if you prefer not to shake hands - which is an option that will be respected - pick up a red wristband at the check-in table. Be sure to bring your employer list with you and prioritize your visits accordingly. You can get your network started as you engage with employers through asking questions, taking notes, and collecting information. Don't forget to pick up business cards and company resources from each booth you visit - these will be essential for the last step below.
If you find you need a breather during the fair or want to grab a snack or drink, the Disability Advocate Union welcomes you to the Relaxation Space on the track level of the RAC! Stop by for a reaffirming chat with a club member, light refreshments, or for a quiet moment to yourself.
T - Take it From Here! After the Career Fair, make sure to follow-up with your new connections. This can include LinkedIn networking message requests, submission of a resume or other documents if requested, and following the organizations on LinkedIn and Handshake. Be sure to complete any action items recommended by employers, such as going to their website to submit an application. Remember details of conversations, jot down talking points, and craft professional correspondence that helps to solidify your image in the recruiter's mind.
As you start submitting applications for those internships or jobs of interest you identified at the Fair, schedule a 30- or 60-min Interview Preparation appointment to get ready for the next part of the job search process.
We look forward to seeing you at the Career Fair!
Name: Dhruvi Patel (She/her/hers)
Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Co-op
Position Title: IT Corporate Intern (DBA/BA)
Major or Program: B.S. Information Systems
Current Class Level: Senior
Work Term: Summer 2022 and Fall 2022
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
My day to day responsibilities includes investigating goals and issues, analyzing information, evaluating solutions, documenting and identifying business issues.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I got the internship at Erickson through UMBC Works. There were a total of three round of interviews including the initial phone call.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
Everyday a business analyst is faced with new challenges and new problems to solve, and this encourages me to learn more about the challenging work environment, and allows me to continuously develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I have gained a good amount of knowledge from this internship. And I believe that I have implemented it correctly in generating reports and projects.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Try to meet new people and be open minded to learn new things everyday.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
The learning process continues until the day you die.
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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!
]]>Let employers attending the Fall Career & Internship Fair on Wednesday, September 21 know NOW that you are interested in them!
Several attending employers have provided their Candidate Tracking links so that they can be sure to capture the contact information of potential candidates. For more information on the attending employers listed below, take a look at our Fair Directory or visit the Handshake event HERE.
Haven't claimed your account in Handshake yet? Get started HERE!
Bala Consulting Engineers, Inc.
General Dynamics Mission Systems
U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Elkridge, MD
Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Another great way to let the full list of attending employers know that you plan to attend the fair is by clicking on the “Join Event” button NOW on the event page HERE. The Handshake platform allows employers to review registered students prior to the event and potentially contact you individually. This is an excellent way to get in front of the line!
Please note, it is NOT necessary to pre-register for the fair in order to attend.
]]>Undergrad Intern Req: R-1093851
Graduate Intern Req: R-1093864
Full Time AFDP Req: R-1093878
Name: Shaniah Reece
Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: NCAR | UCAR
Position Title: SIParCS Intern
Major or Program: Information Systems
Current Class Level: Senior
Work Term: Summer 2022
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
This summer I interned at UCAR | NCAR (University Center for Atmospheric Research | National Center for Atmospheric) as a SIParCS intern. In this role, I worked on a project with two mentors titled “Forecasting the COVID-19 pandemic”, where our goal was to demonstrate how Data Assimilation can enhance model forecasts by guiding them to more reliable predictions.
My responsibilities varied from project-based requirements to required weekly meetings, Professional Development Workshops (PDWS) and “Software Standups”.
For weekly meetings, I met with my cohort to catch-up and talk with my internship coordinator and our CODE intern (CODE stands for Community Outreach and Diversity Education) about how we were doing, upcoming opportunities or events (for example touring different NCAR facilities) and any action items we may need to attend to.
Each Tuesday and Thursday morning, I attended “Software Standups” with the team - this is an agile meeting format, where all team members would stand at their desks and give an update on where they were on a project and offer assistance to each other if needed.
Each Thursday, for about two hours I attended PDWSs which covered a range of topics, from diversity, to writing project grant proposals, to building and creating and delivering a poster presentation or talk. These were really helpful to our learning, professional development and were valuable in connecting us with various opportunities.
When I was not attending meetings I was spending time working on my project and meeting with my mentors as needed. For the first few weeks I focused on familiarizing myself with the content. This mostly consisted of learning about the SEIR epidemiological model and NCAR’s Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART). I also utilized LinkedIn learning or NCAR’s libraries to sharpen any technical skills I needed to.
I worked with my mentors to identify reliable COVID-19 data sources and imported and cleaned them for assimilation. I kept them mentors updated on my progress daily and reached out whenever I needed help.
Once my dataset was ready, I spent the mid to end period of my internship doing work in Matlab to parameterize, tune and run sensitivity tests on my model. Oftentimes I would reach a stonewall due to missing COVID data or varying reporting practices across countries, however we were able to adjust the focus of the project to accommodate these limitations, and demonstrate how effective data assimilation can be even in such cases.
In the final days of my internship, I accumulated my findings and spent time preparing an abstract, content, layout and story for my final poster and presentations.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
Last Fall, I was fortunate to obtain a scholarship from the Center of Women in Technology (CWIT) to attend the Tapia Conference, where I met my internship coordinator, Virginia Do. I introduced myself and gave my elevator pitch in the manner I practiced beforehand at the Career Center’s workshops, then shared my post-graduation interest to pursue a PhD in Data Science.
Our conversation went very well and I was excited to learn about NCAR and its research. Though I was a bit intimidated by the project titles and was hesitant to apply, she encouraged me to give it a shot. I promised to follow up and made sure to do so. We kept in touch via email to make sure I got my application materials in. I worked on several drafts and asked her to review my materials before submitting to make sure I was all set.
This February, I received an offer to interview. I prepared as necessary, and received confirmation a few days or weeks after my acceptance to the project.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I enjoyed how balanced my experience was. NCAR|UCAR prioritized our well being and made sure it was well-rounded. For example, we had a CODE intern whose role was focused on building connections among our cohort. We toured the city, biked, rock climbed, volunteered, attended movie night; I even got to go skydiving with a few interns because of the connections they made possible!
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I believe I was successfully able to demonstrate that models are helpful and very necessary especially in the epidemiological field. However, they are not perfect and data assimilation can help to compensate for some of their limitations.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Do not disqualify yourself. If you see an experience you find interesting, go for it!
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
I deeply enjoyed the community, environment, people and experience I've had during my time in Boulder. From Day 1, I felt part of the team right up until the end of my experience. I was stunned that interns from such different backgrounds could come together in the way we did: bond, laugh, and support each other once strangers in a new place.
Check out this post on our social media platforms!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram andLinkedIn
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!
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