Mentors Make a Difference: Preparing for the Career Fair

I quickly learned the truth about the Monterey Institute Career Fair barely into my second semester at MIIS. As students, we are not expected to roll in around noon and cruise the booths if we have nothing else to do – something I remember vividly from my undergrad days – but are to show up bright and early, dressed to impress, armed with gleaming résumés and gung ho energy to boot. Suffice it to say, I was woefully unprepared.

Step One: Help! I ran to my advisor in a semi-panic about making a successful debut at the Career Fair. She assured me that with some careful planning ahead of time, all would be well.

Step Two: Résumé! Unbeknownst to me, the little document I had been parading around with since getting my bachelor’s was very much in need of improvement. My advisor gave me excellent tips, and we sent several drafts back and forth before it looked just right.

Step Three: Research! I was advised to check out the list of organizations participating in the Fair, select a handful that interested me, and learn their missions by heart so that I could ask the kinds of questions that prospective employers actually want to hear.

Step Four: Schmooze! This is what I had always struggled with. Networking, making useful contacts, ferreting out the people and places that can provide the best career connections; this had never come naturally to me. And based on the networking workshops that were offered at MIIS in the run-up to the fair, it seemed that networking did not come naturally to many other people.

Step Five: Attend! Unfortunately, I had to miss out on the most crucial element to Career Fair success, which is to actually participate. I ended up getting sick the day of the fair and had to miss it. However, friends and classmates gave the fair great reviews, and if they didn’t come away with guaranteed future jobs, they definitely walked out with more confidence and a better idea of what their professional options are.

Although I ultimately had to miss the fair, I still have a shortlist of attractive organizations, main contacts, and a revamped résumé all ready to go for my career search. And since I have more than a year to go at MIIS, I still have next year’s fair to attend. Now there’s no excuse not to get a fabulous internship, followed by an even better job after graduation. All in all, it looks like the Career Fair really does what it’s intended to do, which is to put our experiences here at MIIS into a real professional context and remind us that the world is waiting to see what we can do as international professionals.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *