Engineering students have a chance to mingle with prospective employers at the annual ESS Career Fair.
(Edmonton) Engineering students searching for those all-important summer jobs can take advantage of a series of events offered by the Engineering Students' Society and the Engineering Employment Centre.
The EEC is holding an open house and offering workshops Jan. 9 and 10 to help students impress prospective employers at a career fair; the ESS is holding its annual Engineering Career Fair Jan. 11 and 12.
"The purpose of the ESS Career Fair is to provide a platform for students and employers to meet each other," said Raymund Sampaga, a fourth-year civil engineering student and the ESS vice president co-ordinating the Career Fair. Students can develop meaningful connections, learn about the skills employers are looking for, and up their job-search game.
"Students get to meet potential employers, talk to the companies and see what projects they do and what each discipline has to offer," said Sophia Lu, a fifth-year civil engineering student also serving as an ESS vice president and co-ordinating the Career Fair.
Along with more than 40 company booths, this year's Career Fair features a professional photo booth where students can have a LinkedIn-style photo taken in return for answering career-oriented questions.
Often perceived as a job fair by students and graduates, a career fair's goals are different, says Sampaga.
"A lot of students try to land a job. Their interpretation's that they will go in there and land a job but it's rare in this economy. The most important thing is for them to get to learn about the companies and what industries they want to work in, see what other areas they can explore."
"A career fair's about exploration," said Stacey Sayler, an employment co-ordinator with the EEC. "You should be using it to explore companies and what they do. It's an opportunity to gather information that can inform your career decisions."
To help get the most out of a career fair, the EEC is running a workshop, How to WOW at a Career Fair, Jan 9 and 10, delving into the four WOWing techniques: know your career objectives and the companies of interest, prepare to ask and answer questions, perform and be professional, and pursue with a follow-up.
"Eighty per cent of the success at a career fair depends on what you do before," said Sayler.
The workshop is open to all current engineering students and requires registration.
More information about the ESS Career Fair and the list of participating companies can be found here.