Backpack 2 Briefcase Event – Get prepared for the CECS Career Fair

The College of Engineering and Computer Science held its first ever Backpack 2 Briefcase event on November 2, 2018 where students were welcomed to meet with professionals to get assistance with their job search readiness. This event was held to prepare students for the CECS Career Fair to hone their skills before meeting with prospective employers. The areas covered during the event were resume writing, dressing for success, mock interview, LinkedIn profile, Handshake and Elevator pitch. Student’s resumes were reviewed by an expert who then offered advice on what to include and how to write a more effective resume. The dressing for success table offered advice on how to present yourself during a job interview including what to wear for the type of job for which you are interviewing. In addition to assistance with appearance and resume help, participants were educated with the handshake online job system. Students were also given an opportunity to go through a mock interview to assess how they fielded questions, and their online LinkedIn profile was reviewed to give advice on how to best present themselves online. As an added bonus to these activities, a professional photographic head shot was offered for people to use in their online presentations. Finally, during the elevator pitch, students were given an opportunity to persuade the expert as if they had met outside of a formal interview situation.