​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.

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.

      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.

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.