UNT SWE

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​Society of Women Engineers
University of North Texas
Section C082

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Tips for Attending a Career Fair

9/30/2019

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​This week (Wednesday 2nd), UNT Engineering will be hosting a career fair. Yes, over 50 employers will be at Discovery Park, looking to recruit students/Alumni for internships and full time jobs. Career fairs are good for networking, and getting one’s name out there. Regardless of your classification, we encourage everyone to attend and get an idea about what employers are looking for. However, we understand this experience could be nerve-racking and leave you feeling overwhelmed. We have come up with 3 tips to guide you for this career fair, so you present your best self.
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  1. Who are you going to speak to?
The first thing you need to do to get ready for this career fair is to research the companies that are coming. Like I mentioned earlier, over 50 employers will be at the career fair. The chances that you will get the time to talk to everyone of them are very slim. A list with all the employers coming will be on Handshake, under events, then career fairs. Look at the description of the companies, what they are looking for, and requirements. If you look like a fit, don’t stop there. Go to the company website and learn more about what they do. The last thing you want to do is to walk up to an employer ask, ‘so what do you guys do?’ After you have done your research, you should have a list of the specific employers from different companies you are going to speak to.
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      2.  Who are you?
The first tip was to research the company and find out more about what they do. Now, you have to the same thing, but with yourself. When you go to speak with the employers, they are looking to higher people, not walking wikipedias. Take some time to think about what your interests and skills are. You know what the different companies do and what they are looking for. How do you fit into that role? You will get less than 10mins to speak to each employer. You want to have some sort of ‘sales pitch’ prepared about yourself; why you want to work for that particular company, and what you can bring to the table. 

     3.  What do I do about my nerves?
​A good tip for dealing with nerves at the career fair is to follow this strategy. You have a list of companies you want to speak to. You are definitely more excited to speak to the employers from some companies more than others. Arrange this list from most excited to least excited. When you walk into the career fair, start from the bottom of that list (least excited) and work your way to the top(most excited). At this rate, you get some practice in on your sales pitch. Don’t worry, your nerves will gradually disappear once you get into the rhythm of things. By the time you get to the company you are the most excited about, with probably a few hiccups out of the way, you would have gained confidence.

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Female Engineer of the Month: Alejandra Sifuentes

9/8/2019

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This month, UNT SWE brings to you our female engineer of the month; UNT Alumnus Alejandra Sifuentes. During the summer, UNT SWE had the opportunity to interview Alejandra. Honestly, it was a great conversation and I could tell Alejandra was loving this new phase of her life. She is definitely on a path to greater achievements. Here's her engineering journey so far.
 
Alejandra was born and raised in Fort Worth Texas. She is a first-generation student, and recent graduate from the University of North Texas, with a degree in mechanical and energy engineering. At UNT, Alejandra was very involved with the different activities on campus. She was in a sorority “kappa delta chi” for 2 years, a member of the Society of Hispanic Engineers, Hispanic Student association and multicultural scholastic association. Alejandra was also in trio, where she tutored Physics, Math, Spanish and other engineering courses. These activities kept Alejandra busy, and added a lot of color to her college experience. In fact, these are the things she misses the most about her college years.
 
Alejandra’s desire to become a mechanical engineer was something she always experienced. From childhood, she was interested in Math, Science and the how’s and why’s of machines. Mechanical and energy engineering was something that tied her various interests together. She chose to study mechanical engineering because it used her passions and creativity to help the society.
 
Alejandra joined UNT SWE her freshman year. She said UNT SWE was a huge help in pursuing her degree. The resume workshops, connections with other students in similar career paths, and networking with people from the industry made her college years and career path seamless. In fact, Alejandra got the current coop she has at a SWE conference in Minneapolis.
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Alejandra works as a process engineering development coop for Bridgestone America. She works at the headquarters of Bridgestone, which is located in Nashville, Tennessee. She is currently working with a chemical engineer in the mixing department. Alejandra assists with the new installation of mixers. This involves the knowledge of Chemistry, balancing ingredients and the mechanics of how the machine works and troubleshooting when issues arise. Still, Alejandra mentioned that one of the key tools given by UNT SWE to help her prepare for this job was the knowledge of how to speak and dress professionally.
 
A typical work day for Alejandra begins at 8am with a group meeting with the main engineer. He gives tasks and instructions on what they will be mixing that day. After the meeting, the operators begin weighing materials and mixing. At this point, Alejandra starts analyzing the data and gathering information to see how it works. The fact that no day is ever the same, and there are always new things to be learnt, keeps her job interesting. That’s her favorite part of her job. At the end of the day, they have another group meeting to discuss the results. This project is taking place in North Carolina. Therefore, she travels every week to North Carolina from Nashville. In Alejandra’s words, “It’s definitely been a growing experience.”
 
Although Alejandra is the only woman in this project, she maintains her confidence. In turn, she is trusted with new projects, and has the freedom to ask questions without feeling less than. Alejandra states that the cap stone senior design project is the closest in college to real life work experience. In the end, while working in the industry we have to learn and relearn certain aspects of the job, while on the job. Therefore, understanding the foundation of key concepts is very important.
 
The one thing Alejandra regrets, is not taking advantage of UNT’S grad track program. She still has hopes of obtaining her master’s degree. Alejandra has not taken the PE or FE exams, but is currently studying for the FE. Although it is not necessary for her current job, it is something on her bucket list she wants to check.
 
Furthermore, Alejandra’s story is more than her amazing engineering journey. she loves hiking, being in nature and loves going to the movies. If she could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, it would be Leonardo da Vinci because “he was way ahead of his time and I’ve always been amazed at astronomy and physics.” If she were not an engineer, she would be a math or science teacher.

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Although Alejandra is enjoying her new job in Nashville, she is still a little homesick. She strongly advices the incoming freshman to go to professor’s office hours to ask for help as it helps build confidence in the workplace. She encourages women in stem to be confident and not feel less than anyone because they may be out numbered. She advices everyone to enjoy their undergrad and put oneself out there to make the most of it.
 
Alejandra’s story is not yet complete, but there are still a lot of things to learn from her journey. Putting one’s self out there, and taking risks has its benefits. The challenge this week is to attend a student organization meeting. Your college experience is more than attending classes and maintaining an excellent GPA. You got this!
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Limelight Leads, marcoverch
  • Home
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