This week, starting Sept. 21 through Sept. 22, UTEP will bring the largest job fair, the Career Expo, to the Don Haskins Center.
“One thing we’re very excited about is we have more companies visiting campus next week. The expo is the fall event that is geared towards promoting internship opportunities and full-time employment for current students,” said Betsy Castro-Duarte, director of the University Career Center.
From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., students from all majors and classifications will have the opportunity to attend the job fair with more than 100 employers.
This year the list of employers includes a large set of local and out-of-town companies that will seek to grant students the opportunity of landing an internship or job.
“We have everything from Amazon, which is the first time they’ve been here on campus, to local companies like El Paso Electric, to big-name organizations like GEICO and Lowe’s,” Castro-Duarte said.
Castro-Duarte also said she recommends that students take a look at the employers list on the Career Center website to find out which companies are coming and which day the companies will attend the expo.
“Not all companies will be here both days, some will pick to be here on Thursday or Friday,” she said.
As the expo is about finding a job and internship opportunities, students should be prepared with their resumes as some of the companies look for potential employees at the event.
“Students need to get their resume prepared because some of these companies want to look what the students have to offer, although they may ask them to apply online, they want to look at something to see what type of applicant they’re looking for,” Castro-Duarte said.
Part of the experience includes talking to the representatives of the companies, which Castro-Duarte said is essential.
“Look the part, dress up a little bit, so when you go talk to the employers they know that you’re taking this seriously,” she said.
All majors, classifications and even the general public are invited to attend the expo, however, according to Castro-Duarte, the chances of landing an internship or a job depends on a number of factors.
“If you’re a freshman, this is not to go find an internship, but it might be to do a more career exploration to find out ‘Who hires my major?’For them it’s a more different approach,” she said. “If you are a sophomore/junior, you want to start looking for internships, and obviously if you’re graduating soon, you want to start looking for a job.”
Castro-Duarte said that the chances of getting hired depend on the students—if they are well prepared, if they have done the research and how much they have accomplished while they are in school such as volunteer experience, technical projects and their grades.
Recently, there has been an influx in job scams that are sent to student’s emails, which require students to give away their personal information.
“We sent out an email to tell students to be careful when someone’s offering them a job they didn’t even apply for because it’s probably not a legitimate thing,” Castro-Duarte said.
“Also plan ahead, UTEP is becoming a bigger university, so ride the shuttle because parking is going to be tight, wear comfortable shoes, but dress up nicely and just go out there, shake hands and practice on your 30-second commercial (about yourself).”
