|
October 3, 2004
Undergraduate Career Week Connects BBAs and Recruiters
By Erica Grieder
This fall’s Undergraduate Career Week, held Sept. 20-23, featured a full slate of workshops, talks, networking opportunities and a case competition. Perhaps most importantly, it gave signs that this year’s job-seekers may find the hiring climate a little more temperate than it has been of late.
On Sept. 23, for example, the Undergraduate Business Career Association’s Career Expo brought recruiters from 144 companies to the Palmer Events Center. Employer turnout for this event has not been so large since before Sept. 11, 2001.
“This is a sign that employers have a bit more confidence in their hiring needs for the spring,” said Velma Arney, director of undergraduate career services for the McCombs School’s Ford Career Center. The energy, retail and healthcare industries were particularly well-represented at the event, and not just by perennial McCombs recruiters.
“We have employers coming who have never been here in the past,” said Arney.
The expo was just one of Career Week’s many opportunities for students to interact with employers. On Tuesday, Sept. 22, 30 employers and 225 students gathered at The University of Texas Club to discuss diversity in the workplace during a dinner sponsored by the McCombs Diversity Council. The Diversity Dialogue Dinner gave students a chance to interact with employers in a relatively intimate environment.
Around 400 students signed up for Thursday’s Mock Interview Marathon, which offered an even more personal interaction with corporate America. The mock interviews serve an important educational purpose: students learn what to expect from formal interviews, and interviewers make a point of providing constructive feedback.
Jana Nurmukhanova, a third-year PPA, had never actually sat down across the table from a major corporate recruiter until her mock interview with Deloitte.
“It gave me a lot of insight to see how my interviewer evaluated me based on my answers, and I think she did get a fairly accurate image of me,” Nurmukhanova said. “It was a very valuable experience because next time I will know the sorts of things I should be more mindful of.”
Overall, Nurmukhanova said, she gave the mock interview experience her full approval: “You rarely have a chance to get such specific personal feedback, especially from a big company like Deloitte. And it gives you a chance to get to know more about the company.”
Most students, like Nurmukhanova, had a behavioral interview. Others, such as sophomore Priyanka Patel, had a case interview. During an interview with Ford Motor Company, Patel and six other BBAs split into two teams, and were given half an hour to work on a short mock case. “I learned what recruiters look for in a candidate and, basically, how to interact with them,” she said.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
