In college, it is crucial to gain experience in your field before you graduate and enter the job market. One of the most optimal ways of gaining experience in your field is by getting an internship.
An internship will allow you to gain the necessary experience that employers are looking for. If you are fortunate enough, you may even be able to receive a job offer after college from the organization that you had your internship at.
Thankfully, the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) at Roger Williams University holds job fairs throughout the semester so students can have the chance to network with employers, or maybe even secure an internship. You can easily register to attend these career fairs through the handshake app or website. Through Handshake, you can view all the employers attending a career fair and look more into the ones that interest you.
On Thurs. Feb. 15th , the Gabelli School of Business held a career fair in Global Heritage Hall with twenty employers in attendance.
Some of the companies attending were KPMG, Amica, and KLR Accounting. These are just some of the many employers that students will be able to interact with. Now before you go and meet any of these employers, it is absolutely crucial to be properly prepared. Meeting with the CCPD is an ideal way to prepare.
The CCPD is committed to helping you develop yourself and do everything in their power to help you secure an internship. They will help you create and format your resume to the appropriate standards. Once you have your updated resume, you are going to want to print it out so you can give the employers a copy once you finish speaking with them.
Wearing professional attire for the job fair is absolutely crucial. The first thing that people notice is your appearance, so you definitely do not want to stick out by being underdressed.
Now that you have undergone the proper preparations, you should prepare to actually speak with the employers. Even if you are not able to secure an internship from the available employers, it is still important to network with them.
Networking is a great thing to do as it gives you industry insight, connections, and opportunities. It is important to remain calm and collected when talking to employers. Remember to prepare and be confident because you know yourself the best.
After having attended the business school career fair, I had the exciting opportunity briefly to interview Tabitha Pereira from Rhode Island Monthly. Pereira is the Associate Editor, and they came to the career fair with an editor internship.
My first question for Pereira was what skills and experiences she was looking for in an ideal candidate?
“Someone who is a generally curious person, a real go-getter, and someone who is not afraid to ask questions,” Pereira responded.
Curiosity and asking questions are ideal characteristics of an editor as it allows you to push the work that is being edited to the next level.
My last question for her was what is something you would recommend somebody do to prepare for an internship?
Pereira recommended, “Do your background research on a company so that you are not caught off guard.”
This is great advice to all people who need to prepare for an internship. Knowing about the company you’re interviewing with will show how interested you truly are in working at that company.
The job fairs held at Roger Williams University are a great way to network and possibly get internships. Make sure to check in with CCPD to learn more about upcoming job fairs!
