Making Connections

This past week I really focused on talking with people I know in the working world, in particular alumni that I know. Everyone always says to keep good relations with people because you never know what will come in the future. I always took that as keep in contact with alumni in your field, which I found out is good, but not the only thing you need. I personally have a lot more contacts outside of the field of management information systems and never really thought they would come in handy until now.

A couple of alumni in particular have been really helpful in just talking about job opportunities that are out there. It has really given me the opportunity to look into fields that I wouldn't necessarily consider and give me an outlook on career paths out there.

Besides that, I applied to a few more positions this week and I will see what will come! Hope the job search is going well for you!

High Hopes!

So I got myself back out there and started applying to jobs and opening up to different areas that I didn't expect I would be looking. I had a couple of conversations with employers in the past week and will pursue those more in the upcoming week. Many of the companies I have started to look at know are medical companies (mostly hospitals for their information systems) and also education institutes (school districts and so on).

After talking to more place and people in different industries I am feeling more confident that I am going to find something that I like and get an offer by the spring (hopefully!). Phone interviews and conversations were really big for me this past week. Here are a couple of things I try to do beforehand and then during the conversation:

Beforehand:

• Research the company just like you would for a face to face interview. Jot down notes but remember to keep them organized.
• Have a copy of your resume with you. By now I have looked at mine so many time that I think I could recite it top to bottom by memory but it is good to have one in front of you in case the employer references it.
• Find an area that is quiet and that you will not be disturbed in/distracted.
• If you are using a cell phone make sure it is charged/you have service. This seems obvious but you really don't want to lose the call with a potential employer right?
• Confirm the phone number that they will be calling you at. Many times people will have a home phone number and a campus/cell phone number. Confirm beforehand so there is no confusion.

During:

• Turn off anything around you that may be distracting to you...a computer, a TV, the radio. You want to focus on the person who is calling you.
• Speak clearly on the phone and try not to interrupt the person on the other side. Sometimes that can be difficult via phone but if you are having a good conversation it will start to come easy.
• Have a blank piece of paper and a pen with you. Since they won't be handing you any information in person or giving you a business card it is essential that you write down important information (especially future contact information!).
• Relax...talking on the phone isn't really for everyone. Many times the phone conversation that you have is your first impression so make it a good one!

Talking on the phone wasn't really my thing either but I have been getting better at it over time. Be confident on the phone because that comes across to the employer through your voice and also be respectful like you would in person!

Hope the job searches continue to go well for you all!

Getting a jump on restarting my job search

So after some not so good news from some places I interviewed with phase 2 of the job search will be starting this week. That is, I'm starting from the top with a positive attitude determined to find a job that suits me : )

I was feeling a little down last week with the lack of responses I was getting from interviews and people at the CDC suggested that I should just take a new look at things and get the ball rolling on a new search. Today and tomorrow I will spend some time looking for positions to apply to and I will let you all know how that goes!

still waiting...

After a couple of busy weeks of interviews I have now entered the waiting period...which is not too exciting and a little nerve racking at times. After my interviews I was able to to confirm when I should be hearing back from them. I was also able to confirm in follow-up emails. Besides waiting I went on another On Campus interview with a company located near WPI. The conversation went really well and I was able to make a lot of connections with the interviewer (we had similar activities/organizations from college which made for great conversation).

It is becoming more evident that the economy is not doing so great. Many places have put a freeze on hiring and there is a lot of discussion as to if companies are willing to take on new employees. There are also many layoffs that are happening now too which is a little scary to someone who will be jumping into the job force relatively soon. I am really trying to keep options open and look at everything positively but every now and then I wonder how finding a job in the current economic state is going to go.

Making the best use of my time

Fall break was a busy but at the same time pretty relaxing. I was able to finally sit down without a worry of course work and look at careers and employers more carefully. One of the main things I used break for was scheduling interviews. I was able to complete a half day interview at the beginning of break and also at the end of break for two separate companies. Both interviews went very well but the second one really caught my attention as somewhere I could see myself working.

Each of those interviews last about a half a day. The first company I met with 4 individuals that each had about an hour with me. There was a good mix of behavioral and technical questions and there was an opportunity to learn about the company throughout. The second company I met with 7 people that day. Each person had about 30 minutes and all made great use of the time trying to get important information about my background and more importantly what I want to see myself doing. I was happy with my performance in each of the interviews and was given dates on when I should be hearing back from each place.

Another great part about break was being able to go home. This really gave me an opportunity to talk with my family about my career outlook and about the worries I may have during the process. It was good a reminder for me that not every position is for everyone. In the past week or so many of my friends and classmates have been receiving there very nice offers from big companies which can become slightly frustrating to someone who is still up in the air about what they plan to do. I really just need to focus on myself and look for a job that I want to do, will be able to contribute a lot to, and hopefully that I will get a lot out of. Focusing on factors like this rather than an offer from a company that would be impressive to my peers is really important for me :)

As B term begins I have 1 or 2 more companies that I am interviewing with wrapping up the month of interviewing. Soon I will be hearing back from the companies that I met with and hopefully sometime this winter season I will be making a decision on where I will be once I graduate!

Time is flying!

It is hard to believe that I will be taking my last final of A term in about 3 hours, that I will be handing in my MQP proposal to be graded in about a day, and that I am that much closer to graduating.

The game plan for break is to get some job search/interviews done. I have two interviews scheduled over break. Both are approximately 3-4 hours long because I will be meeting with numerous people on site. Having fall break right about now is very convenient to be able to interview and not be stressing out about school.

Looking back, I am pretty impressed on what I have managed to accomplish job search wise in A term. I created a solid resume, attended the career fair and made some contacts, had 4 interviews (2 phone and 2 in person), and all and all feel pretty good about where I stand. The interviews are helping me figuring out where I want to end up and I am starting to narrow done what I think I want to do.

The best thing I learned this term is that everyones job search is different. It is easy to compare your job search to your friends and feel like you don't compare or that you are behind. Everyone goes at their own pace and makes different decisions along the way. Some people are looking to continue their education, others are looking to make bank at a huge firm, and some still are just keeping options open and going with the flow. Whichever way you decide to do your job search don't get frustrated if it seems like you are getting no results. It is a process and some go a little faster than others, that's all.

Over break I will be going to my two interviews and taking some time to get a jump on MQP so next term goes as smoothly as possible. Best of luck on finals and enjoy the break!

Interview season

I had my first experience of on campus recruiting for my first interview. For past interviews for summer internships I had always gone to the company to interview. Having the interview on campus made it much easier to get to obviously and made me slightly more relaxed.

In case you do not know, the CDC supplies potential employers with rooms in the building that they can use to interview students. This is a great service that the CDC offers and many employers take advantage of it. Check out the CDC website and your JobFinder account to see what companies will be on campus in the future.

The interview I had on campus went pretty well. It was the first round of interviews for the company and I learned a lot about the program I am applying for and also got to inform the employer about my past experiences. Good news, I got called back for a second interview which I will be going to in the next couple of weeks!

As I mentioned before I had another interview this past week. This time I went out to interview at the company which had its perks. I got to see the workstations and really understand the processes of the company. We sat, we chatted, asked some questions, and then took a tour of the building. That interview went well too and hopefully the ones in the future do as well.

For now I am still not set on where I want to work or what exactly I want to be doing. I am going to continue to look into different companies and see what they have to offer until I can make a well informed decision on where I want to end up. That is the plan for now, we will have to see how it goes!

Sometimes I don't have a lot of time...

To be quite honest with you, sometimes looking for a real job can be kinda scary or be thrown on the back burner because of everything else that is going on. With MQP, organization responsibilities and other classwork, I have no energy or motivation to be on the job hunt 24/7.

Like anything else though I try to make some time every now and then to go through jobfinder and look for future employers. Another thing I try to do is respond back (either via email or phone) to employers that contact me within a reasonable amount of time. After about a day it will slip my mind and losing that contact is not good.

Besides those little things I have been preparing for interviews. This past week I had my first interview for a full time position. A little scary to be honest but all and all it went well. I reviewed the materials the company had given me previously and also reviewed my own resume. Once I felt comfortable talking about my experiences and had knowledge of the company I just tried to relax...which almost happened.

Having that first interview under my belt is a big relief. I have another interview this upcoming week and I hope to keep improving with my interview skills. Besides that I will be focusing on my school work and just getting some things done around campus for my organizations. Good luck on any interviews you have coming up!

Looking back on the Career and Graduate School Fair

It has been a couple days since the Career and Graduate school fair and it worked out really well for me this time around! I got to have some great conversations with companies and was able to distribute a good amount of resumes.

One of my big improvements this year was my ability to hold good conversations with people and make some good connections. I spent a good deal of time with a handful of companies, got contact information, and gave out resumes. Some of the representatives instructed me to apply for a job online and I did so when I returned home from the fair.

I made sure i took note of the people I talked to, their contact information, and any further instructions they told me I should do. For example, one company asked me to forward an electronic resume to an email address. I did that the following night to ensure that the employer would receive my resume while the career fair was still on their mind. If you have not gotten around to making your final connections with companies its not too late so make those connections!

Results from the career fair have been great! I have an interview this week and another one next week. Hopefully I am able to secure 1 or 2 more interviews in the upcoming weeks. Now I need to prepare for my interviews and hope for the best!

Getting ready for the Career and Graduate School Fair

It's time to get ready for the upcoming career and graduate school fair! Here is what is on my list of things to do before I attend:

• Finish updating my resume
• Get my resume critiqued
• Research companies that I wish to talk to
• Find an outfit to wear that I feel comfortable in and look professional
• Practice speaking clearly to others in normal conversation

Some of these things might sound silly (what I'm wearing and practicing talking to people) but these are little things that will calm you down if you feel good about them. The more comfortable you feel talking about yourself and your experiences the more relaxed you will feel when you enter the career fair.

I have researched a handful of companies already and plan to continue researching until the fair. Hopefully all goes well!

So what does an intern do?

Both of my summer internships have included a lot of learning from people in the company as well as a lot of discovering things on my own. For the first couple of weeks I went through a lot of tutorials and sat through numerous meetings on how the company works, what the division does, and what are the goals for the division in the future and how my internship will play a part in that goal.

Many of my tasks were given to me by week and I would try to problem solve on my own before reaching out to find answer. Doing a little work on your own first is always good, this way when you ask for help you have concrete questions to ask and can follow along easier.

With the implementation group I work with test sites alongside a full time employee. I would help with moving code and setting up a site and then helped test different functions. In my IT helpdesk position I would do daily task when people called and needed help with such things as printers, network connections, and specific applications. Some of the long term task I had were improving the inventory database as well as working on a GPS database for one of the other groups at the company.

Internships give you a great experience to figure out what you like doing and in some cases what you don't like doing. I have had two great experiences in two different fields and that will help me decide a career path in the future!

How I spent my Summer

Welcome!

I am blogging for the Career Development Center on my job search. I am starting my senior year at WPI and I am a Management Information Systems (MIS) major beginning my job hunt this year. Each week I'll be writing about things that come up in my job search such as preparing for a career fair, researching jobs, and going on interviews. Hopefully reading the steps I am taking can help you with your search as well!


I began looking for a summer internship this past year over winter break. I used the JobFinder on the CDC website to research companies and to eventually see who was attending the Career Fair in C term. At the Career Fair I was able to talk with a lot of representatives from various companies and handed out many resumes. After the career fair I was able to go on two interviews and ended up securing a summer internship before the start of D term.


The internship I accepted was at a Civil Engineering company working with their IT help desk staff. It was a great opportunity to work with a company that is primarily outside of my major. Working there gave me the opportunity to work with a smaller company and also gave me the opportunity to learn a lot. My manager encouraged me to problem solve a great deal on my own which will be very valuable to me in my future career.


The previous summer I had an internship with a medical software company in their implementation group. This too was a great opportunity. This company was much larger than the Civil Engineering company I worked with and between both of these experiences I got to see the difference between small and large companies and between companies in different fields.


After my past work experiences I am still debating whether or not I want to work in a large company or a small company. I'm looking forward to the career fair this fall to get the opportunity to talk to some employers!