Searching for Your First Professional Position

CSCE 181 Introduction to Computing

David McMahon ’69

September 2015

2

No. 2 Recruiting Schoolof Companies Recruiting New Hires

Wall Street Journal•Focus on teaching practical skills•One-stop shopping•Big student populations

Texas A&M University• Proximity to key operations

• Quality of candidates

• Breath of programs match recruiting needs

3

You Are Here!

John J. Koldus

Building

Suite 209

979-845-5139

http://careercenter.tamu.edu

cc_advisor@tamu.edu

So Are We!

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Career Center Components

• Career Education

• Experiential Education

• Interview Services

• Professional School Advising

• Former Student Services

How Employers “Grade” TAMU Students - 2014

Resum

es

Cover

Let

ters

Inte

rvie

w P

repa

ratio

n

Can A

rticul

ate

Skill

s

Compa

ny K

nowle

dge

Caree

r Direc

tion

Profe

ssio

nal D

emea

nor

Mat

urity

Realis

tic E

xpec

tatio

ns0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%A

B

C

D

F

What Should Students Research at Company Websites?

Feedback from

Students Employers

Company overview 80% 97%

Products/Services 56% 77%

Career Opportunity 75% 68%

Location 46% 45%

Financial 15% 13%

Division 25% 6%7

Career Direction

• What brings that sparkle to your eye or fire in your belly?

• What are the 3 to 5 things you see yourself doing with your degree for my company?

• What in my job description excited you, that you see yourself doing?

• Why are you the best person to fill my job, not just qualified to do my job?

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SCALE

4 - Most Important

3 – Important

2 - Somewhat Important

1 - Not at All Important

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Internships/Co-ops 3.62

Personality/Social Skills 3.55

Creativity/Problem Solving 3.44

Leadership in Professional Organization 3.11

GPA/Overall 2.88

GPA/Major 2.86

Leadership in Non-professional Organization 2.86

Part-time job 2.51

Volunteer engagement 2.25

Senior Design Projects 2.04

Research with Faculty 1.91

Work Abroad 1.52

Study Abroad 1.50

What Employers Value When Selecting Full-time Employees - 2014

Career Education

Website Resources • Salary and Relocation Statistics• Resume Templates• Career Tube• AFS Find an Aggie• Online Resources

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Career development/exploration resources

Air Jobs Career Beam CareerSearch Career Shift

Eco Jobs Going Global Internships.com Internships USA

Virtual Mock Interview Jobweb

Oil & Gas Journal SIGI3

Sports Job Board UniWorld

Vault WetFeet.com

Washington Information Directory

Career EducationOnline Resources

Career Education Advising

• Walk-in Advising & Resume Reviews: 8:30-11:00am and 1:30-4:00pm (M-F) 209 Koldus and various campus locations

• Individual Appointments (call 845-5139)• E-mail: cc_advisor@tamu.edu• http://HireAggies.com• Helpful staff

Career Education Workshops

• CO-OP Orientation• Resume Writing• How to “Work” Career Fairs• Co-op/Internship/Job Search Strategies• Behavioral Interviewing Skills• Mock Interviews & Interview Coaching• The Company Visit Interview• Salary Evaluation/Negotiation• Business Ethics• Dress for Success & Dining Etiquette• Federal Employment Forum• Applying to Graduate School• I’ve Got the Job! Now What??

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Experiential Education

• AggiExternship 2015• 1 Day Visit by Students• Day-to-day Work of Someone in Your Major• 53 Host Companies• 62 Locations• 1,360 Students Invited• 906 Students Participated• Austin, B/CS, Beaumont,

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Tyler, San Antonio

• Open to all Colleges• AggiExternship 2016

• January 12th, 13th, 14th, & 15th

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Experiential Education

• Cooperative Education Multiple work terms; Receive course credit; Always paid

• InternshipsTypically in summer; Usually paid; Course credit possible

• Volunteer WorkCommunity service related

• Friendly Staff

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Experiential Education

BENEFITS• Confirms your choice of major• Gain professional work experience• Increases marketability upon graduation• Meet amazing people • Network and gain valuable contacts• Apply classroom theory to real-world settings

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Interview Services

HireAggies.com

You have already paid for it!!!!!!

No charge to Employers!!

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Interview Services

Job Posting ServicesEmployers Registered to:•Post positions - New Hire, Co-op,

Intern, Experienced•Collect and search resumes

Students Registered to:•Apply for positions•Manage job search process•Sign up for interviews

HireAggies.com Services•Personal Advising and Workshops•Job Postings

Interviews I Qualify ForJobs I Qualify For (screening only)Jobs I Qualify For (all)

Interview Services

Key Tabs

Key Tabs

Key Information

Interviewing Services2014 - 2015

• HireAggies.com Job Postings4,900+ Companies15,500+ Job Postings71,000+ Positions

• On-campus interviews18,200+ …. Whoop!

• Resumes Drops 138,200+ submitted!

• Career Fairsfor all students & majors!

Professional School Advising

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Advise students to be competitive candidates when applying to professional schools:

Medical Dental Physical TherapyPhysician AssistantNursingLaw PharmacyVeterinary Medicine

Career Fairs

• Agriculture• Architecture• Business• Camp Day• Construction• Education• Engineering• Geosciences• Graduate and

Professional School

• Health Professions• Industrial Distribution• Landscape Architecture

& Urban Planning• Liberal Arts• Law School Caravan• Overseas Day• Retailing• Sciences

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Other Texas A&M vs. ENGR Graduates Outcomes Spring 2015

All Other Graduates

All Engr Graduates

All Other Bachelors

All Engr Bachelors

2% 2% 2% 2%

24% 21% 24% 18%

27%

12%

30%

15%

7%

6%

7%

5%

40%

59%

37%

61%

Employed

Offers, Still Seeking

Graduate School

No Job Offer

Not Seeking

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TAMU Bachelors Grads Starting Salaries - Spring 2015

Vet & BIMS Average

Sciences Average

Liberal Arts Average

Geosciences Average

Education Average

Business Average

Architecture Average

Ag & Life Sciences Average

Engineering Maximum

Engineering Average

Engineering Minimum

$37,452

$53,033

$46,072

$52,445

$43,571

$56,076

$53,538

$46,588

$120,000

$69,572

$33,000

TAMU Bachelors Grads Starting Salaries – Spring 2015

28Petroleum Engineering

Ocean Engineering Nuclear Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Industrial & Systems Engineering

Industrial Distribution Engineering Technology

Electrical Engineering Computer Science

Computer Engineering - ELEN Computer Engineering - CPSC

Civil Engineering Chemical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering Biological & Ag Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

$92,990

$65,611 $59,232

$74,614 $59,535

$55,283 $60,140

$63,797 $64,715 $67,571

$61,175 $59,263

$82,409 $65,207

$55,243 $63,004

Final Thought

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.“ - Walt Disney

“The man who waits for just the right time to start never gets anywhere.” - Roger W Babson - Entrepreneur and business theorist

Start at least 2 semesters

before you want to go to work! 

Questions?

We’ve Got Answers!