First-year Buckeye engineers gear up for success
Created to give first-year engineering students a jump-start in their search for an internship or co-op, the event included workshops to help students fine-tune their resumes and interviewing skills as well as learn how to use the college’s job search resources.
“The most valuable thing about today was the resume portion,” said Madeline Grosklos, first-year materials science and engineering major. “They reviewed my resume for me, told me what to add and how to switch things.”
The event concluded with dinner and a student panel discussion where senior Ohio State engineering students shared the secrets to their success in finding internships and jobs post-graduation.
A representative from event sponsor General Electric was also on hand to provide students with insight on entering the professional world.
“Ohio State is very important to GE, it has been identified as one of our key talent pipelines. So we want to make sure that freshmen students are prepared for interviews with all companies, especially with GE,” said Brian Peterson, design engineer at GE.
This event offered students advice and inside tips on what employers look for when hiring young talent.
“We want students to be able to answer questions coherently and be prepared so they can really leverage all of their experience and time invested to make the payoff of an internship, a co-op or a job,” said Peterson. “We see this as a first step to success for Ohio State engineering students.”
Holding the event during the first semester of a student’s college career enables them to prepare themselves for the job market early.
“More and more, students are being asked to get as much experience as possible,” said event organizer Ashley Taylor, an ECS career counselor. “I know it is intimidating to start your first year, but we also have companies that are looking for students early on in their academic careers.”
Attending First Year Gear-Up also allowed first-year students to register with ECS and get a head start in using their services. Usually students are required to complete online training and meet with an advisor in order to register with ECS, but this group of first-year students were registered on site.
Students who register with ECS have access to CareerEngine, a helpful search tool that helps them find available jobs, internships and co-ops.
“Because we have experience and relationships with employers, we encourage students to register with us so we can help guide them and help them develop the skills that they will use their entire career,” said Taylor.
According to Taylor, 87 percent of College of Engineering students who report full-time employment after graduation used Engineering Career Services.
Throughout the event, attendees also learned various techniques to market themselves to employers and seek advice from different sources.
“Hearing from people who actually work in the industry and people who bring in recruiters, I definitely learned a lot about how to make yourself more presentable and attractive to employers,” said Simon Turner, a first-year computer science and engineering major.
The event put some students at ease concerning upcoming interviews and gave them ideas on skills they should improve upon.
“I feel more prepared and more composed going into job interviews, especially because those are very intimidating situations,” said Turner.
by Emily Lehmkuhl, College of Engineering student communications assistant
