“What is Career Week?” you may ask. It is a series, coordinated each semester by the Career Services Department, to ensure students are prepared for their current and future career searches. Throughout the week of April 26, a number of workshops and events were held virtually to prepare students for the Spring 2021 Virtual Job and Internship Fair. Did you get a chance to attend any of them?

Monday’s schedule consisted of two workshops, “Getting Started with Job Search Strategies” and “Refining Your Online Presence & Networking in Your Field”. Both events were geared towards a variety of students, who were and were not experienced in the topics covered. Students gained insight on apps that would enhance their professional appearance virtually. With job-searching already being extremely nerve-wracking, this was a great opportunity to learn about the many tools that can alleviate the process.

On Tuesday, we took a trip down memory lane and had a panel discussion with New York Tech Alumni. “How to Make the Pandemic Work for You” was an amazing learning experience, and provided students with insight from people who were once in their shoes. Alumni discussed how the pandemic has affected their everyday personal and professional lifestyles, and how they have used this experience to their advantages. The employer session “Standing Out in the Hiring Process” took place that evening. The hiring process is extremely competitive as is, but with the pandemic still occurring it can be more difficult now than ever. This session went into depth on how a job seeker can stand out during the overall hiring process!

The two sessions “ How to Talk About Yourself to Employers” and “How to Create Your Own Internship” were held on that Wednesday. Talking about yourself to an employer can be intimidating. It can be hard to know whether the information you are providing is too much or too little. In this workshop, Career Services helped formulate a “middle ground” to help job seekers to give employers the perfect answer. The session “How to Create Your Own Internship” was truly an enlightening experience. Students were encouraged to take matters into their own hands and create something for themselves that best suits their wants and needs in a professional setting. The key tokens that were taken out of this session were for students to: identify skills that they would like to improve and/or build with their own internship experience, formulate a list of ways they enhance an organization’s philanthropy, and approach an organization and share their internship proposal. Have you ever thought about creating your own internship?

On Thursday, Career Services held the Spring 2021 Virtual Job and Internship Fair, where employers and students were given the opportunity to discuss career opportunities within their field of interest. It was great to see the students who had attended the workshops and events to use what they learned when speaking with employers. Employers from several different industries were in attendance, and included The Federal Bureau of Investigation, GEICO and BBS. Students had the option to connect with these companies in individual and group sessions. This was a great opportunity for students to learn more about the company as well as showcase the knowledge they gathered throughout the week.

Career Week did not end after the Virtual Career Fair! There was a great turn out for the last event, “Career Week After the Fair: Following Up and Thanking Employers.” This session emphasized the importance of following up with employers post-interview, reminding us that keeping track of our hiring process is a great way to stay organized and keep in touch with the employer.

Did you miss out on this year’s Career Week? Don’t worry! Follow @NYITCAREER on Instagram to be kept up to date regarding all upcoming Career Services events.

By: Alessia Wilmore, Career Ambassador, Career Services