How I am Preparing for the Career Fair...

Time goes by so quickly it's not even funny. Next week is the Career Fair on the 4th and 5th! The first day is internships only, so I guess that's not really relevant to me. But the 5th is a day I really have to be prepared. I know that I've been talking about applying to graduate schools but I realize that these programs are really competitive and so I decided to look for jobs as well. Besides, being in the workforce might give me a better idea of what I want to do before I really get into a serious graduate program and get more specific with my field of study. So there are some things I need to get prepared:

-I just got my resume critiqued, and even though I hadn't really changed it much from the last fair, it turns out there were a whole lot changes I had to make, because this time I'm looking for a full time job, not an internship. Now I need to implement those changes.

-Log into Job Finder and update my resume before the fair. A lot of companies don't take a hard copy of your resume, but will ask you to apply through JobFinder, so it's a good idea to keep it updated.

-Research the companies that are coming this year through JobFinder (there's a list once you log in to your account), and check out the ones I'm interested in. It's always nice to approach companies and have a little bit of background information on them and already know what they do- it's a good first impression to make.

-Dress nice!!!

I know that this isn't really a biotech fair, and the life sciences fair is in March,but this is definitely a great way to get prepared and get experience talking to people and knowing how to approach them well. Hopefully there will be some good people I meet and if not, it'll be good preparation anyway!

Good luck and be prepared!! :)

Things They Don't Tell You...

If you're a girl who's pretty involved at WPI, you probably know what WIN is. If you're not...well, you still might know. For those who that don't, Women's Industry Network is WPI's very own women's networking organization that holds hundreds of female WPI students as members. It holds dinner events once a term where students get clubbed into sections based on their majors with two professionals that are in the same field as them- for example, I sat at a table with biology majros at school and professionals in the field of bio/biotech. It's a very helpful event that sets you up with people that can give a lot of advice and guidance on what to do in school, out of school how to get a job- that sort of thing.

Last night's event was super helpful- we had professionals talking about things such as exempt vs. non-exempt employment, taxes, work insurance, health care plans, savings plans, time off, renting vs. buying homes, paying off student loans, etc. Now I know it all sounds super boring, but amazingly enough, it is now that I begin to realize these are all things I'm going to have to think about like...now! Whether or not we want, time takes it toll and we have to make real-life decisions. Once we're in the real world, it really is surprising how many options there are and all that can be overwhelming. This was all advice that people don't tell us- all real life situations that we have to face by ourselves.

I'm glad WPI holds events like this that can be so helpful to students in their future when they enter the work force.One such event is "Life After College" that will be hosted by the CDC in the Odeum today, 5-6pm. If you see this post before then- you should definitely try to stop by!

Back From Break

As this 'lovely' weather rolls around (fallen on ice anyone? I have...of course), I can't believe this is the last winter break I just spent at WPI. Good thing I took a much needed vacation. But I was also, fortunately, back a couple of weeks early to do some MQP work, and graduate school applications. The first one is hopefully going to be sent out tomorrow-so glad I finally wrote those essays.
I realised that I didn't have the time to get all my essays reviewed, but since I'll be applying to some schools with later deadlines, I have time to make appointments at the CDC to get the later ones reviewed. Also, I plan on getting some help to apply to jobs now that spring is not far away. The spring career fair is actually coming up on Feb4th and 5th. The first day is for internships, but the second day is more vital for me, with internships and full time jobs being looked for.
The next thing is to get more organized and start putting deadlines for myself so I can send out all the application materials, get my MQP in line, and start a thorough a job hunting process.
Last C-Term ever....almost done :P