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!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, October 6, 2008
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!
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!
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