Career fair to target ECU students, alumni
East Carolina University College of Engineering and Technology students and alumni looking for jobs and internships will have the chance at some one-stop shopping at the Engineering, Technology and Management Career Fair from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 16 at the Greenville Convention Center.
Ariel Goodman, career counselor with ECU Career services and liaison to the College of Engineering and Technology, helps student Robert Trautman, a junior from Wilson, with his resume. Goodman said students will need plenty of resumes to hand out to employers during the Engineering, Technology and Management Career Fair from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 16 at the Greenville Convention Center. (Photo by Ken Buday)
To help students prepare for the event, a prep workshop is scheduled from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in room 144A of the Science and Technology Building. Those attending should bring their phones or laptop computers. No pre-registration is required.
“This event will cover best practices for networking, how to navigate the career fair, how to find employers you’re interested in and how to develop your elevator pitch,” said Ariel Goodman, career counselor with ECU Career services and liaison to the college.
During the workshop, students will get a chance to practice their elevator pitches, which is the first chance to make an impression on an employer.
“It is your 30-second introduction with employers,” Goodman said. “It basically tells employers who you are and what you have done related to the industry.”
The ETM Career Fair is open to all students and alumni interested in pursuing jobs and internships with organizations having engineering and technology staffing needs. During the three-hour session, students and alumni will have the opportunity to connect with more than 150 local and national employers.
“We have companies from out of state, Virginia, South Carolina, as well as North Carolina,” Goodman said. “We get a pretty wide range of companies. They’re from all over. It really covers the span of the region, across the eastern seaboard and the Southeast.”
About 20 of those employers will be back on campus to conduct follow-up interviews on Oct. 17.
Bus transportation to the fair will be provided, with pickups planned at the Main Campus Student Center as well as in front of the Christenbury Gymnasium.
Students who plan to attend should also download the ECU Career Services Fairs App, which is designed to enhance the student and recruiter experience by allowing up-to-date information before and during on-campus events. The Fairs Appis available for Apple and Android devices as well as online (go.ecu.edu/fairsapp).
Goodman said the Fairs App is important as printed maps of the career fair layout will not be available at the event.
“This is a big change. It’s the first year we’re doing this, so they really need to have the Fairs App on their phones,” Goodman said. “We’ll have people on the buses reminding them to download it, and we’ll have people walking through the fair reminding students to download the app.”
Goodman said those attending should come prepared to have professional photographs taken and should also have plenty of resumes.
“We say between 10 to 20,” Goodman said. “There’s not a place at the career fair to print resumes, so they need to bring plenty.”
Employers will be seeking applicants for internships as well as full-time and part-time positions.
The fair does not require advanced registration.
“It’s open to all CET students and alumni,” Goodman said. “We’re also encouraging freshmen and sophomore students to attend just to get the lay of the land and understand how the process works.”
After a break for lunch, the Job and Internship Fair for students and alumni in all majors is scheduled from 1:30-4:30 p.m.
For more information and suggestions on how to prepare for the Career Fairs, visit the Career Services website at https://career.ecu.edu/or call 252-328-6050.
— By Ken Buday, University Communications