Expo Advice

Author: Hannah Lee

Advice for Expo!

It feels like the semester just started, yet it’s that time of the semester again! Expo is happening this week. This will hopefully provide some advice, as you’re preparing to get an internship or job offer.

What is Expo?

Expo is a job fair where many companies come to UT Austin (location may vary – see website for more details) and seek out students for internships and full-time jobs. This is an opportunity for students to talk to recruiters and representatives from various companies, to show off their resumes, and to hopefully get internship and/or full-time job offers.

Official website: https://expo.engr.utexas.edu/

Is it worth going to Expo?

Ultimately, only you can answer this for yourself. Some questions to consider when asking yourself this question: Do you want an internship or full-time job offer next summer? Are there companies at Expo that you would like to intern for? Do you have the time to go to Expo? If the answer to all of those is a yes, then it may be worth going to Expo.

How likely am I to get something out of Expo?

This answer varies a lot. Some people are able to successfully find internships and jobs from Expo, while others are not and find them from other means. It will likely be easier to get an offer from smaller, local companies since many of them primarily recruit from Expo! It may be harder to get offers from larger companies just due to Expo alone, but you’ll get the opportunity to talk to their recruiters and to hand them your resume.

I don’t think I have enough experience to get anything out of Expo. Is it still worth going to?

If you think that Expo will be helpful in the future, then it may still be worth attending. Even if you feel like you don’t have enough experience to get anything out of this Expo, Expo happens every semester, so you’ll be able to practice and see what it’s like before it actually counts! You can also ask recruiters what they think will make you a stronger applicant and what they look for in potential hires.

Also, don’t sell yourself short – the last thing you want to do is to eliminate yourself before even trying. Who knows, you may be more qualified that you think!

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Before Expo...

What can you do to prepare for Expo?

Edit and update your resumes
It may be helpful to go to ECAC to get one of their people to review your resume beforehand
Quick tips provided by ECAC: https://students.engr.utexas.edu/career-resources/resumes/resume-writing-tips
See below image:
Print out lots of copies of your resume! You’ll be giving these out to recruiters.
Take a look at the list of companies coming to Expo
Take note of which companies you want to visit, what they do, and which day(s) they’re coming
Make a list of the companies that you want to visit
Research the companies that you’re interested in
Figure out if there are any questions you would like to ask them
Sample questions can be found on image below #4
Other good questions:
What do interns of my major do at your company?
To see the list, click “View Attending Employers” here: https://expo.engr.utexas.edu/student/
Practice your introduction or “elevator pitch.” Advice for this (plus a lot of other advice) can be found below (ignore my messy notes haha – I got this from the EOE + WEP EXPO 101 Workshop):
There is definitely no solid recipe for this. The advice below is just one suggestion – feel free to change it as needed! You just don’t want it to get too long.
Pick out what you want to wear
Business casual attire
For ladies, do NOT wear heels!!! You’ll be doing lots of walking, and I speak from personal experience that the effects are not pretty and are kind of painful so please please no heels
Prepare what you want to bring
Resumes (you want at least 1 resume per company you want to see, if not more)
Notepad/paper + pencil/pen to write notes after visiting with a company rep

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During Expo...

When you approach a company rep, what do you do?

There is no recipe that works for everyone because each company rep may do something different. You definitely just want to go with the flow! Generally, you will shake their hand (though that was the practice before COVID – I'm not sure if hand shaking will still be the norm after COVID. You can follow the lead of the company rep and can also see what they did with the people in front of you!). After, you generally will say your introduction and ask your question. However, some company reps may lead the conversation instead, so definitely see what they end up doing!

You can see the image from #4 for more advice!

What order of companies should you go through?

The first company that you go visit should be one that you don’t particularly care about getting an internship from! It’ll be good to practice talking to recruiters using one or two companies to warm yourself up for the companies you actually care about.

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After Expo...

What do you do after Expo?

If you are lucky, you may hear back from a company within a couple weeks asking for an interview! If that’s the case, congrats! If not, no worries – you can keep applying for other internships online.

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More advice can be found here: https://expo.engr.utexas.edu/student/resources/!