Hello everyone! This week, I’ll be focusing on careers, or as I like to call it: real life! I have spent most of my life in the comfort of school, but now that I’m a sophomore in college, it’s really time to start thinking about the rest of my career!
First of all, this week is especially appropriate for #ViterbiCareers, as everyone is getting into the mindset of finding a job or an internship! The Career Fair was this past week, and it seemed like every engineering student flocked to the many company tables in the hope of dropping off their resumes and making a good impression. While the entire process may seem very overwhelming, I’ve had an amazing experience with the huge number of opportunities provided to me.
This past summer (the summer right after my freshman year), I interned at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. You can read about my experiences here! I knew of a few friends who had internships at JPL and they highly recommended the opportunity, so I applied online! Don’t listen to people who say that applying online never works, because it definitely does, and theres no harm in trying! 🙂
So, how would you go about getting an internship? In my experience with talking to recruiters, the number one most important thing is having a killer resume! This is what every employer will be looking at, and if yours stands out and is exceptional, your chances of being hired will most definitely go up! In addition, take advantage of every networking opportunity, as these opportunities directly lead to you talking to a recruiter. It doesn’t necessarily have to be at the Career Fair either! So many organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers have specific events tailored to helping their members find internships and jobs. And on the plus side, since Viterbi has so many connections through the Trojan Family (yes, it is real), you can have access to amazing companies such as Google, Microsoft, Intel, and so many more!
As for my game plan this semester? I definitely want to get some more work experience, especially since it’s so different from college life! Again, even though I’ve only just started my sophomore year, it’s never too early to start! I will definitely keep you all updated! 🙂
Thinking about life after college can be really scary and overwhelming, so take one step at a time! Go to as many networking events and career fairs as possible (and trust me, there will be so many available you won’t be able to go to every one), and do your best to build yourself professionally. I think you’ll find it’s not as daunting a task once you take it one step at a time! 🙂 Good luck, and Fight On!
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