Auburn Engineering offers career prep tips in a world working remotely

Engineering students preparing to enter the job market may have questions about the current environment, given the newly widespread practice of remote work throughout the economy in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations (CDCR) has answers to those questions and more.

Employers still seek qualified candidates

In the past week CDCR has conducted informal surveys with nearly 400 companies that have recruited with Auburn Engineering during the past year, according to Apryl Mullins, assistant director of corporate relations. While many have altered their business operations to allow employees to work remotely, several are still recruiting for open full-time, intern and co-op positions.

“While some industries, such as the airline and oil industries, have been hit hard by the pandemic, initial feedback from companies indicates that their internship and co-op programs for the summer have not been altered at this point, nor have full-time hires.” Mullins said. “Though a few companies have implemented hiring freezes in the last week, those freezes have not impacted their current hires, based on the feedback we have received.”

Mullins said her team will continue to touch base with their industry partners as the situation evolves in an effort to keep job-seekers informed.

Remote career counseling available

The CDCR office is continuing its mission to provide customized career coaching to students by moving normal operations completely online. From resume and cover letter assistance, to company research, video conference-style interview prep, navigating job offers and salary negotiation, the CDCR team is offering online appointments that can be requested through Handshake. 

“This is really unchartered waters for our students and the companies that are looking to hire them,” said Marissa Miller, career counselor. “The biggest thing we want to reiterate is the importance of staying as connected as possible with our office so we can help address your questions and make sure our students are entering the job search and application process as confidently as possible.”

In addition to emails being sent through Handshake to engineering students regarding current internship and job opportunities, an avenue Miller recommends for job seekers is a virtual career fair, such as the SEC & ACC Virtual Career Fair scheduled for April 2. Registration for the fair is required and allows participants to input fields including their major, desired position types and preferred company locations to easily filter through the participating companies.

“We’re seeing an uptick in the number of participating employers at these types of events given the current situation,” Miller said. “This is a great way to network and engage with current employers and to learn more about future job opportunities.”

For more information on career coaching tools, including the link to request an online appointment with a member of the CDCR team, visit eng.auburn.edu/cdcr.