Category Archives: Events & Internship Fairs
Making the (Regional) Connection
This blog was originally posted at Building a Better Indiana.
Itâs time to tune into GLE! Not âGlee,â the pop culture phenomenon about a high school show choir. Iâm referring to GLE, which stands for Get Linked Expo, a regional event bringing together business leaders from six Central Indiana counties: Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Madison and Marion.
GLE is all about one thing: connections. It will promote networking among participants (more than 1,000 people are expected to attend) and vendors (over 100 will showcase their products and services). Industries represented include technology, business services and economic development.
The Indiana Chamber is among Hoosier organizations partnering on the event. Individuals can attend for free by registering in advance. GLE will take place on November 4 at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino in Anderson from 3-7 p.m., followed by an after-hours mixer.
Take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to â …
Career Fairs 101: Avoid the Herd Mentality
Entry by Pat Patterson
After attending a few career fairs this fall, it seems like a lot of students attend career fairs with a group of their friends. That in itself poses no problem, but showing up to a career fair with your friends and walking around the career fair with your friends are two different things. What I am getting at is â it is important to navigate your way through a career fair alone.
First off, think about the reasons that you may walk around a career fair in a group. The group acts as a âcrutch.â You may be nervous, unconfident, or unsure who to approach at a career fair, and your friends may make you feel more comfortable. And that is how employers may perceive such a group of students â recruiters may see such students as unconfident, unsure, or unprepared (not necessarily admirable traits for …
An Event You Wonât Want to Miss
Entry by Pam Norman, Indiana INTERNnet Executive Director
No matter how large or small, your company can benefit from hiring an intern. Now more than ever, todayâs challenging business environment offers opportunity to access talented student interns willing to put their creative energy to work for your organization. Learn how easy it is to get an internship program designed and implemented!
On October 7th, Indiana INTERNnet joins forces with IndySHRM to present a workshop designed with you in mind. An interactive panel of experienced internship employers, former interns, and career services staff will highlight how to make a solid business case for hiring an intern.
Hiring managers, career services professionals, and students are invited to attend the event in downtown Indy which includes time for networking, six easy steps to creating an internships program, practical tools to help you get started and lively conversation from panelists with internship experience.
We …
Career Fairs 101: After the Career Fair
Entry by Pat Patterson
Students
After a career fair (From the 2010 September INTERNnetwork):
Jot down your notes and organize the information you collected (including contact information â it is a good idea to note where you met certain individuals and what you talked about), write thank you notes to those you met, apply for positions you are interested in, and follow up with employers about applications you submitted.
Remember, making a positive impression with people greatly influences your internship and career search. When recruiters sift through resumes and decide who they plan to interview, you are more likely to stand out if the recruiters remember who you are and the interest you showed in their particular organization.Â
Employers
After the Career Fair (From the National Association of Colleges and Employers NACE)
Post-fair activities do help with your recruiting efforts. Here are some ideas:
Host a networking …
Career Fairs 101: Selling Your Company to Potential Interns
Entry by Pat Patterson
From the 2010 September INTERNnetwork:
Now that you have established a need for interns in your organization, you need to make sure you have students that are interested in your internship opportunities. And although having too many interested candidates may not be a bad thing, it is important that the candidates you attract are qualified for your positions and are the right fit for your organization.Â
Conveying a clear, concise message about your organization and its mission is vital in attracting the type of talent you would like to fill your internships. Here are some tips on how to sell your company to interns, specifically at career fairs:
Have a section of your website dedicated to your internship opportunities, including detailed descriptions, which you can direct interns to visit (the link can be included on any literature students are provided before the career fair), attend those …
Career Fair Game Plan
Entry by Pat Patterson
Last Friday I posted an entry about how to prepare for a career fair. You also need to lay out a game plan of the organizations you will visit and the order in which you will visit them. I would recommend visiting those organizations you are less interested in first to build up your confidence when you speak with those recruiters from organizations you are more excited about.
Here is some advice to help guide you during the career fair:
DURING a career fair:
Arrive early, dress professionally, have your resume, portfolio, and a pen ready, proceed to the organizations that you identified you are interested in, be aware of your posture and body language, relax, be confident, be approachable â SMILE, offer a firm, confident handshake to recruiters with eye contact, execute your *elevator speech, ask any questions you prepared, and make sure to collect …
Students: Preparing for a Career Fair
Entry by Pat Patterson
Fall career fairs are beginning to take place as early as next week, and recruiters look positively on candidates who show up to career fairs prepared. But what does that mean exactly? Here is some advice to help guide you:
BEFORE a career fair you should prepare by:
Keeping up on industry/market trends, keeping up on current events in your areas of interest, pre-registering for the career fair, researching the participating employers and their opportunities,
– General company information:Â industry, market outlook, products and services, history and corporate culture, organizational mission and goals, key financial statistics, organizational structure (divisions, subsidiaries, etc.), and locations (main and branch).
–Â Employment: career paths and advancement opportunities, benefits, diversity initiatives, current internship and job opportunities. identifying the employers you plan on speaking with and the positions you plan on applying for, preparing resume(s) (creating specific, tailored resumes for different …
Live, Learn, and Intern
Entry by Kelly Arnold, Workforce Development Assistant, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce
The Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce Graduate Retention Program recently capped off a summer-long series of events called Live, Learn, and Intern. These events were specifically designed to bring employers and interns alike together at unique local hot spots in the Fort Wayne and surrounding area. Interns from Navistar, ITT Communications Systems, Raytheon, Vera Bradley, and many others were able to see firsthand what the region had to offer in the area of entertainment, and employers (specifically HR personnel) had the chance to interact with their staff on a more personal level. These events were highly successful with great attendance and overall wonderful feedback.Â
These events, under the guidance of GRPâs own summer intern Andy Schemm, were held at The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Crazy Pinz, Canlan Ice Sports, Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum, Fort Wayne Tin …
Scrubbinâ Down and Sprucinâ Indianaâs â250-Acre Houseâ
Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair
Rumor has it that weâre officially 432 hours away from opening day at the Indiana State Fair. Not that Iâm counting or anything, but for those of you who lack math skills (like me), 432 hours = 18 days. Can somebody say, âeeeks?!â
Well, have no fear, Fair fans. For some employees around here, State Fair prep is down to a science! After all, when you work here for 10, 15, 20, even 30+ years, you get into the groove of things after awhile. When youâre an intern, youâve got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps (flip-flops, in my case) and hang on for a fast-paced ride of a lifetime!
If youâre wondering what goes on pre-Fair, Iâve got a few pictures to share with you. My colleague, Kris Karol, snapped these shots late last week. Pretty soon, …
Take Me Out to the Career Game
Entry by Pam Norman, Indiana INTERNnet Executive Director
Last week I had the good fortune to enjoy baseball, hotdogs and career conversation.  A beautiful Indiana evening at Victory Field proved to be the perfect setting as university career services professionals and employers met to further relationships to benefit the students of Indiana. Sponsored by Career Development Professionals of Indiana, the College Career Center Consortium, Harrison College, Indiana University Career Development Center, and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, the event attracted 106 attendees representing 59 employers and 25 college career centers. While networking was the ultimate goal of the evening, many stayed to cheer the Indians on to a 9-1 victory over the Durham Bulls.Â
As I think about the conversations I participated in, it was evident that higher education staff members work as advocates for Indiana students in a variety of ways. Discussions surrounding employer campus visits, internships, and talent …