Women engineers host networking event
The College of Engineering’s annual event “Evening With Industry” provided students an opportunity to mingle and network with potential employers Wednesday.
The Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi — an engineering honors society — and USU Career Services hosted the event.
“This is the third year SWE and Career Services have co-sponsored the event,” said Melissa Scheaffer, associate director of Career Services.
Lauren Berrett, a senior studying mechanical engineering and a member of SWE, was in charge of organizing the event.
“The evening includes an informal networking, which is an opportunity for students to hand out resumes,” Berrett said. “The engineering students who attended the dinner selected the company they wanted to sit with.”
The purpose of the event was to help provide employer contacts and prepare students with networking experience, Schaefer said.
Career Services worked one on one with students to ensure their resumes marketed their skills, she said. In addition, workshops and expos were held to help the students prepare.
“In a world of online applications, this is a way for students to get their foot in the door and to establish a relationship with someone in the hiring process,” Scheafer said. “The first time an employer sees your application shouldn’t be the first time they see your name.”
During the event students were able to ask questions of engineers that work in the industry, Berrett said.
“They will get a better understanding of what it’s like to transition from college to the real world,” Berrett said.
Bethany Green, an employer from Williams Energy, said she supports events like Evening with Industry because “it’s a good experience to get face-to-face contact.” Green said she thinks networking opportunities are important for all students, not just those majoring in engineering.
“So much is online now, but networking events are good to get experience,” she said.
Scheafer said about 130 engineering students attended the event, which featured 50 employers representing 17 companies.
“Last year, there were only eight companies that came,” said Berrett, who was responsible for recruiting the employers. “I sent 150 letters to different companies and heard back from these 17.”
Scheafer said local and regional companies represented a range of local and nationwide opportunities.
“Lauren (Berrett) really promoted and delegated the planning process,” said Shayli Elliott, a biological engineering major. “But I helped sell tickets to get as many people to come to the event.”
Wendy Merkley, a graduate student who attended, said she thought it was a good opportunity to prepare for the future.
“I think it’s a good experience because it gives you an opportunity to talk to employers about what they like about their job and what it’s like working for a certain company,” she said. “It’s more intimate, so you can really talk to the employers about their jobs.”
Scheafer said the university will host a career fair for all majors Feb. 29.
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