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Students Transitioning To The University Park Campus

Students who are transitioning to the University Park campus from another Penn State campus have some special career considerations. In addition to trying to find your way around a very large campus, get to your classes on time, and make friends, you are likely already in your third year of study and facing limitations on the number of semesters you have left in which to find work experience—so timeliness will be a major consideration for your co-op or internship search.

It will be critical for you to start planning for your career right away when you arrive at University Park, if you didn't start at your campus:

• Start to broaden your professional network at this campus—get to know professors and instructors in your major and join student organizations related to your major.
• If you don't already have one, put together a résumé detailing your academic background and work experience. Do not include any information from your high school years; all of your content should be college-level. A strong résumé is the first thing you need if you are planning to apply to co-op, internship, or permanent full-time positions.
• Talk to an academic adviser if you become concerned about your academic progress or if you find that your grades are slipping significantly as a result of your transfer. A low GPA that continues to drop could ultimately have an impact on your job search.
• Register for an eCareer account. eCareer is the free online job search system available to all engineering students; to create an account, you need to complete a profile and upload a résumé for approval. Thousands of both domestic and international employers use eCareer to post available co-op, internship, research, and permanent full-time opportunities, which you can view and to which you can apply directly.
• Attend as many recruiting events as possible, including information sessions, professional development workshops presented by employers, networking events, and career fairs (our Web site provides information about upcoming events for engineering students). More than 1,000 individual companies and organizations recruit Penn State students each year at the University Park campus, so there is no shortage of opportunities for you to talk to recruiters.
• Be prepared so you can make the right impression on employers! If you're planning to attend a career fair: Do some advance research on the organizations that will be represented; make sure your résumé is in good condition to share with recruiters; know how to approach recruiters at events; and know how to dress for interviews.

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