Career Fair Experience

Attending the NCSU Engineering Career Fair as a freshman was initially an intimidating experience, but as I got more comfortable in the environment I was able to receive valuable feedback. I talked to multiple companies (generally, the ones that were the least busy) and had them answer some questions that I have generated prior to attending. Because I realize that I do not have many of the qualifications necessary to land an internship, I used my time to learn about what the companies seek in an employee in order to help me make the most of my years of undergraduate education.
The first company I talked to was Sageworks, which is a private, local software company that provides financial analysis. They placed a high value on internships, which I found to be a recurring theme in essentially every company’s priorities. Sageworks specifically noted that they “do not have time to train an employee from 0 experience,” therefore they expect the employee to be able to jump right in. Co-ops are weighted similarly to internships. I also asked them about the significance of a minor, to which they replied that minors show initiative, and the “most successful students …show more content…
This company was seeking a very specifically trained applicant with training in linux and the “right technology.” They stated that, honestly, their employees mostly sit in front of a computer, but skills in communication really set individuals apart as those skills are unusual in their line of work (their implications, not mine). Once again, co-ops and internships held about the same value. A minor was not very important, only if it was something an individual was interested in. As for a masters degree, it was a positive component of a resume. However, they also noted that in this day many times a company will pay their employees to go back to school, so it is not