Next Steps for Newly Admitted Students

Add Experience

In order to have your resume stand out from the crowd, you should try to have somewhat relevant previous work experience. Make sure to update your resume with what you did this summer, and highlight the areas you were able to make an impact. Even if it doesn’t apply directly to your program, you can emphasize your ability to work hard and make a difference.

It still isn’t too late to add some last minute experience to your resume. You can start applying for jobs in the Fall that might have relevance to your program, or you can get class credit and work experience by signing up for an on-campus internship.

Find Companies that Match Your Goals

Trying to establish what company you want to intern at could be the most important task you could accomplish right now. There are many factors to consider, such as the industry and size of the company that you could potentially work for. As you decide which industry you want to work in, and then what size of company would best suit you, then you can investigate into which companies fall within that realm.

Create a list of companies that you are interested in, and apply to any internship or job opening they have. As these companies come to campus, they typically hold an info session before the job interviews. You can come to these info sessions, find out even more about the company, and decide if it’s for you. Your career directors are experts at helping students company match, and would love to meet with you to discuss your goals.

Revise Your Resume

You need to make sure that your resume is up to par in order to be competitive. Your resume will need to be in the Marriott School format, and as previously mentioned it should reflect the work you have performed this summer. In order to apply to the Marriott School, most programs require you to submit a resume. Refine and cater your resume for an internship. To start prepping your resume for job applications, you need to make sure that your resume follows the specific advice under your program’s section of the Applying to the Marriott School resource tile.

To further refine, you can look at examples of resumes specific to your program in the Resume Tips & Tricks resource tile. Once you have followed those guidelines, it is highly recommended to meet with your career director. They will be able to give you specific feedback on your resume and help you to know what you need to do to strengthen it.

Update Your Handshake Profile

With that new and improved resume you just updated, go to the Handshake and update your student profile. Every student has a profile on the website called Handshake, which is what the entire university uses to work with recruiters. As you continue in your job and internship search, Handshake will be instrumental.

Most people don’t realize that updating your resume on Handshake is very important. Whenever you go to an info session, employees from the Business Career Center (BCC) will be at the beginning of the event swiping everyone in with their student ID cards. At the end of the meeting, the BCC records the names of all of the students who attended that session, prints off these students’ resumes from Handshake, puts them into a little book, and hands the book to the recruiters.

Having your resume updated on Handshake is important so that whenever you go to an info session, the recruiters will have access to your most recent resume.

Become an Info Sessions Expert

As previously mentioned in the Career Matching and Handshake sections of this article, info sessions are key to your experience this fall. Plan now to take time out of your schedule to attend these info sessions, and decide which companies’ info sessions you would like to attend.

In order to know about info sessions, you have to stay informed. Go to CareerLaunch and update your email preferences to make sure that you receive notifications for upcoming info sessions, and any other types of job notifications you wish to receive. You can select if you want to receive daily or weekly email alerts. Daily alerts are recommended for those on the job hunt to be aware of new job or internship applications, whereas weekly email alerts are great to plan ahead and know about upcoming events. Select whichever frequency best suits your needs.

Do Mock Interviews

Mock interviews are a great way to hone your interview skills. Most people don’t realize it, but it takes a lot of practice in order to interview well. Since this junior internship is going to matter a lot in the years to come, you want to make sure that you are doing all that you can in order to prepare for the interview. You can ask those who you are currently working with to help you practice answering interview questions, or career directors are also a great resource to help you practice responding to typical interview questions.

Craft Your Elevator Speech

An elevator speech is a quick, clear statement about who you are, what kind of position you are seeking, and how you could benefit a company. Elevator speeches are used very often in interviews when a person is asked about themselves, or even when you are chatting with someone waiting in line at the DMV. Being able to present yourself in a clear way is key and it can open up many doors.

We have links to helpful articles on how to craft an elevator speech here and here. As always your career director is available to help you.

Using your elevator speech can also be helpful as you reconnect with family and friends. Networking can bring in a lot of different opportunities for jobs and internships!