full image - Repost: Had an interesting interaction with someone from the Engineering Career Fair (from Reddit.com, Had an interesting interaction with someone from the Engineering Career Fair)
Mining:
Exchanges:
Donations:
Basically, I went to the career fair as a first year engineering student with an intended major in mechanical engineering. I figured that I’d stop by for a few hours in the afternoon, when I had a good amount of time between two classes. And even though I didn’t have much experience from college, I even printed out some resumes to give to employers as a way to show I am serious about engineering and that I was interested in gaining experience and about their respective companies.So I’m standing in line for the first company that I saw and am interested in, Caterpillar. Everyone around me in line seemed like they were looking for full time jobs, and I was the youngest person in line just looking for information about the company and potential internships. As I was waiting, a lady with an NC state name tag approaches me. She asked what I was waiting in line for, to which I replied “Caterpillar.” She laughed back. She also asked where I was from. I am an out of state student, so I replied “New Jersey.” She laughed again. She also asked what year and major. And I said “first year mechanical engineering” to which she didn’t laugh, but smiled like she wanted to laugh again.After this she leaves, and comes back while I’m still waiting in line. She hands me her business card. She tells me she’s an extension of NC state who helps new engineers find internships. She said she could hook me up with an internship at a smaller business paying $25/hr to do real hands on work that makes a difference, and to email her my resume. She said I’d be better off going on this route than pursuing an internship with a larger company like CAT. Then she finally leaves.Not sure what to think of this other than how rude it felt. I went in to this knowing that my odds of landing any opportunities was low, but still wanted to start my networking as soon as possible. Needless to say, I threw out that lady’s card. I think I’d rather wait a few more years to gain enough experience to land an opportunity to work for one of the other companies there, than deal with her again.Overall enjoyed networking with other companies after that interaction though. Some recommended that I keep them posted on my classes and experience so that I could intern with them further down the line.
Social Media Icons