After three years of lectures, exams and papers, university seniors are ready to go through a long process that will determine their first stepping stone into the what some may call “the real world”: job-hunting.
Students begin attending career fairs offered by the university as early as junior year. By handing out their resumes to get their name and skills out there for employers to see, students are preparing for career advancement as early as possible.
Shaune Sullivan, a senior finance and marketing double major, took advantage of career fairs sponsored by the Robert H. Smith School of Business, whose student body consists of 54 percent of students receiving job offers by graduation according to a Bloomberg Business profile of the school.
Sullivan started attending career fairs and resume workshops junior year to ensure she got her name out in the open to prospective employers. However, there are pros and cons to career fairs, she says.
“I think sometimes career fairs give you a general idea of different types of employers,” Sullivan said. “A lot of the big companies have so many students waiting in line to talk to them so you only get about 10 minutes or so but I think they definitely helped me get interviews from talking to some small companies.”
Sullivan, who just accepted a job offer from J.P. Morgan, said career fairs help students get interviews from a number of prospective employers. Preparing for interviews is one of the most nerve-racking experiences of the whole job-hunting process Sullivan said.
“When you go on interviews you have to prepare for them and especially with certain companies like J.P. Morgan you were expected to really do your research so you could answer questions on the spot,” Sullivan said.
However, some students excel during their internships, which later end up in a job offers. Alex Mairone, a senior economics major, was offered a job after completing his summer internship with Merrill Lynch.
“My advice would be to work extremely hard during any internship experience because in the end they may offer you a job if they like what they see,” Mairone said. “With the current job market, I was nervous I wouldn’t have a job set up after graduation so that made me want to try to make a good impression at Merrill Lynch.
Mairone said he only knows of a few people that have job offers after graduation and that most of his peers have been submitting resumes to employers or interviewing with various companies. Patrick Moynihan, a senior turf and golf course management major, is one of those students.
“I have started looking for jobs, online mostly, because there haven’t been any career fairs for my major yet,” Moynihan said. “My major combines a lot of my interests like sports and working outside. I’m thinking right now I will apply to sports teams, large organizations like Disney or smaller lawn care companies.”
Moynihan, who has applied to two employers as of right now, said the job-hunting process is definitely stressful.
“I think the whole job-hunting process is nerve-racking. The chance of not finding a job is very scary,” Moynihan said. “I’m just beginning the process so we’ll have to see how it goes. I’m just going to take advantage of every opportunity and contact I have.”
Moynihan said he will be relieved once he knows he has a concrete job offer; however, meeting different people through interviews is a good experience. “Going through this experience is just a part of growing up but once it’s over I will definitely be excited to move on with my first career,” Moynihan said.
“I think students just really need to take advantage of every resource, career fair and contact during this whole process,” Mairone said. “We’re so lucky to go to a school that truly wants to help students get their names out in the open and be able to showcase their skills and talents.
Link to Bloomberg Business profile of business school: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/full_time_mba_profiles/maryland.htm