Making a Career Fair Work for You

Career fairs allow you to network with multiple employers, explore career paths and companies you are interested in and find out about employment opportunities. With several career fairs coming up this fall, here are a few tips to maximize your experience and have employers more likely to follow up with you.

What to Wear

This is your chance to make a good impression and show that you take your career seriously. A good rule of thumb is to dress like you would for an interview. You can wear a suit if you have one. Otherwise, men can wear slacks with a dress shirt and tie, and women can wear slacks or a skirt with a dress shirt. 

Bring Your Resume

Bring copies of your resume. Ideally, compile them in to a folder or padfolio. This is also useful for collecting material that they will hand to you. If you need assistance with your resume, come visit Career Services. 

Introduce Yourself

In the initial introduction, shake hands with the employer and tell them your name and a brief description of your background and what you are seeking. For example: 

Hi, my name is Jane Smith. I am a junior studying Business Administration and am seeking internship opportunities in Accounting. I have worked in customer service at Target for the past two summers.

 Preparation

Before you arrive, review the list of employers, note the ones you want to meet with and prepare some questions to ask.

Examples:

- What opportunities are available at your organization?

- What do you like the most about working there?

- What skills and experience are you looking for in a candidate?

- What can I do as a student to best prepare for a career in the ____ field?

- May I have your business card?

 

Business Cards and Follow Up

Collecting business cards allows you to follow up quickly with any connections that you make.

Meet the Firms - Accounting & Finance Fair

Meet the Firms – Accounting and Finance Fair is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3^rd from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. in the Massman Hall Rock Room (outside on the Quad weather permitting).

This event is a great opportunity for accounting and finance students to meet with representatives from regional and national public accounting firms, along with several major KC based corporations.  Get your resume polished up and dress professional.  First impressions are important and this is your opportunity.

If you are considering an internship for 2014, now is the time to start looking.  The market is very competitive and you need to start early.  Your competition is not just the students in your classes, but students from every college and university throughout the area.  Every chance you have to connect with a prospective employer is critical and Meet the Firms can help jump start your search!

In Their Own Words: Students Reflect on Their Summer Internships

Hello my name is Jay M. Walters Jr. I'm a senior here at Rockhurst University. I'm studying Communication Studies and Political Science (Pre-Med, Pre-Law). The internship that I took up with the Co-op Program was with Walters, Inc. This internship nonetheless was extremely difficult, but it was well worth it. I gained a vast amount of knowledge, pride, integrity, and strength. I've been able to interact with different customers, vendors and workers. My communication skills have greatly developed. This internship opened my eyes to the world in a way I never had viewed it. It allowed me to see that being a business owner is extremely hard but that it can be done. It takes a lot of time, effort, hard work and dedication to be successful in whatever you do life. – Jay Walters Jr.

Magis… pay it forward. If there is one thing I have developed through my experience at Rockhurst, it is a dedication to striving for excellence.  With each hurdle conquered we must continue to set the bar higher, often in spite of great difficulty.  It is a passion to succeed and to serve as leaders that allows us to better understand ourselves, others, and our world.  With the undertaking of a job to audit the university water bills, I saw an opportunity to give back to my alma mater and perhaps return the enormous favor Rockhurst had afforded me.  The interpersonal, mathematical, and analytical skills gained from my college experience have molded me into an effective contributor, team player, and problem solver well-suited for the job.  So far I have recovered over $160,000 in undue charges from the water company. I have spent this summer staying fit, learning Spanish, reading books, hanging with friends, balancing two jobs, beating cancer… and reflecting on all the good fortune and great people in my life.  Thank you Rockhurst, for pushing me to strive for excellence and to become a well-rounded individual.  May we continue to pay it forward.
 – Alex “Cody” Schuler

I’m Alex Shada and I am a recruiting manager for Farmers Insurance.  A typical day for me starts when I get to work at 9:00 AM. The first thing I have to do is refresh our job postings on CareerLink. Depending on the day, we may have a morning meeting. Next I have to search resumes on CareerBuilder and Monster for good qualified candidates. From there I reach out to them about possible job opportunities. I ask them a few questions and if they can communicate effectively, I schedule them for interviews. The last part of my job is conducting the first round interviews. Here I go more in-depth with questions and what they would be doing in this position. If they were intelligent and would be a good fit for our team, I pass them along to our district manager who does the 2^nd round interviews and application process. I make a few more phone calls and leave after 5:00 PM. All in all I enjoy my new job and look forward to a better future from here. – Alex Shada

Accounting Internship at PwC... by anonymous student

A summer internship is a great way to ease into the accounting business. Engagement teams have had time to cool down from the busy season and the PwC employees are eager to meet their interns. There is still plenty of work to do but there are also a lot of great team building activities and events. These can be community service projects at Harvesters or the Kansas City Zoo, Promotion Day, and happy hour at some of the nearby restaurants.

If one is looking for an internship at any public accounting firm, it is important to plan ahead. Even as a sophomore or junior it is not too early to start looking into programs like PwC’s Elevate. This is a two-day interview process which I completed the summer before my senior year, a year before the start of my internship. It really helped me learn about PwC, their people and the atmosphere of a public accounting firm. Several of the people at PwC who I met at Elevate are now some of my colleagues and it really helps to have those established relationships.

An internship at PwC is an experience of a lifetime. It will provide any willing person with the opportunity to learn from some of the best accountants in the business. One of the unique parts of working at PwC is the people; they are excited to answer all my questions. Selecting samples, performing tests and documenting work is much different when on a client site, as compared to sitting in an audit class. In an audit class it is common to learn about all the tests, such as statistical tests or non-statistical, but at PwC you get to apply the knowledge which you have learned in school. The biggest difference is the interaction with the client, such as asking for supporting documentation or completing a walkthrough of a control. As an auditor, it is not uncommon to spend most of your time in the office of several different clients. It is important to have a positive attitude which can help in the timeliness of obtaining documents and evidence as quick as possible. - anonymous student

Wells Fargo Advisors Internship... by anonymous student

I will be a senior at Rockhurst next fall. This summer I have the opportunity to work as an intern at Wells Fargo Advisors. I was very much looking forward to this internship because I have a very keen interest in finance, investing and I am thinking about pursuing a career in investment.  The most amazing thing about the internship is the amount of knowledge I have learned. My day starts at 9:00AM and ends at 3:30PM. I do a variety of things from answering calls, making appointments, attending luncheons and meetings with other financial wholesalers or investment firms, to market research and analysis. Usually, I ended up taking a portion of research and work home with me. Although the amount of work is large, the reward is incredible. I have learned so much about investing and the way businesses are conducted.  I would encourage other finance students to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for this internship. They would benefit a lot from being able to work and learn from real and professional investors.

A tip I would provide to my peers is to start applying for these internships early. People always say the early bird gets the worm.  Starting the application process early and then following up is the key. Besides the opportunity to apply what you have learned in finance in a real environment, this internship has provided me with great opportunity to meet people and start making connections. Those are also very important elements to getting a job.

One thing I learned about myself is that I need to balance my workload better. There are several occasions where I feel completely exhausted.  That would have been avoided if I had paced myself and taken breaks between work and research. Three weeks in the internship, I have already had the opportunity to learn and formulate my own investment strategy. I am very excited to see how my theory will apply to the current market environment. The next 5 weeks will be very intense but I am very excited and look forward to it. - anonymous student

Welcome

Welcome to the Rockhurst University Career Blog.  Stay tuned for updates, event information and enjoy your summer!

Building a Bridge to Employment Through Internships

So you’ve landed a summer internship that aligns with your career goals and you are excited about getting real, on-the-job experience in your field. Not only is this a great opportunity to apply what you have learned in the classroom, but it could also be your foot in the door towards future employment.

Here are some tips for getting noticed by your employer and maximizing your experience:

·         Take initiative – Instead of only doing what is asked of you and then twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the day, take initiative and ask if there is anything else you could be doing after you have completed your tasks. Pay attention to the projects that are going on with other workers and think about how you might be able to contribute. Show your willingness to learn by asking to sit in on meetings or attend workshops.

·         No task is beneath you – “That’s not in my job description.” This mentality is certain to create frowns from your employer. Nothing impresses employers more than a willingness to do any menial task that contributes to the project they are working on. It also helps establish trust that you can handle whatever is given to you and that you are willing to start anywhere just to be a part of the company.

·         Show interest – Learn about the company you work in. Read about their mission and values and figure out how your department fits into bigger picture. Ask questions and show your interest in what they do. This shows employers that you are interested in them specifically and not just gaining experience for your resume.

·         Network and build relationships – Keep in mind that even if you do a great job and are the best possible intern, you still may not get hired after its completion. However, the connections you form could lead to employment down the road. Interact with co-workers, collect business cards and build your LinkedIn network.

After your internship, take time to evaluate the experience and what you learned. What did you like and not like about the position? What did you learn about yourself and the environment you want to work in? Think about what your next steps are: Do you want to continue in this area or explore other options?