As NJIT Preps for Next Career Fair, Students Reflect on Finding the Right Match
Nearly 100 employers and more than 1,000 students are expected to participate in this month’s NJIT career fair, which remains online via the Handshake networking platform.
Among the employers offering internships, co-operative educational opportunities and jobs at the Feb. 19 fair are Bristol Myers Squibb; General Dynamics, Gladstone Design; Johnson & Johnson; Tata Consultancy Services; Colgate-Palmolive; the Metropolitan Transit Authority; Mott MacDonald; the Naval Air Systems Command; Perkins Eastman; the New York State Department of Transportation and Bowman Consulting.
The four-hour event, sponsored by Tata, Cianbro, Crestron Electronics and Infineum, features one-on-one interviews with company representatives and group sessions, where students can learn about potential employers and ask questions. To participate, students need to sign up here.
The fair is among four that NJIT’s Career Development Services is offering this academic year with the aim of placing students in real-world learning experiences. CDS, which also hosts networking events, information sessions and days for employers to interview students, provides the guidance and support needed to achieve meaningful careers.
A fair in September connected 120 employers with nearly 1,600 students via some 4,000 interviews and 150 group sessions. Here’s a closer look at two of the student-employer matches.
Patryk Pieciak ’22
Pursuing a bachelor’s in civil engineering
Internship as a estimating engineer at Traylor Bros.
Why it suits me
My main goal was to find a company that will teach me a lot and give me working experience that will help me further my career. After doing lots of research and speaking with multiple employees throughout the interview process, I realized that Traylor specializes in just that. They truly care about their interns and their main goal is to give them valuable engineering experience and lessons that they will carry with them throughout their careers.
Skill development
I hope to become a more well-rounded engineer and person overall. Specifically, I would love to gain further knowledge and experience working with CAD softwares and structural design as well as improve soft skills, such as working in teams.
Interview process
There were a total of three interviews, the first one with a field engineer who was at the fair, the next with a recruiter and the final one with the internship supervisor. The main thing that I noticed was how hard it was to keep eye contact with someone throughout an interview on a computer screen and that you had to pay close attention to what the interviewer said in case the connection slowed down or the audio cut out. Luckily that never really happened and everything went fairly smoothly.
In five years …
I see myself as a field engineer working for a structural engineering firm. I will also be about a year away from being able to take the PE exam to obtain my professional engineer license.
Priyanka Subramanian
Pursuing a master’s in information systems
Co-op as a data analyst at Case Medical
Why it suits me
I am able to acquire knowledge from not only the IT sector but also other departments in the company. So, an overall experience of the company can be gained and a lot can be learned through working with them.
Skill development
I hope to gain knowledge in Excel, SQL, Python, data visualization tools and machine learning and further develop my skills in communication, critical thinking and presenting.
Interview process
It wasn’t hard because I had help from the Career Development Services department at NJIT. I got tips for my resume building and my elevator pitch. I also connected with alumni through the workshop that CDS conducted and learned a few tips from them.
In five years ...
I see myself as a successful data scientist or senior business analyst.