Big Things Coming In Storrs (Campus expansion)

[CL82]

I used enjoy the view from my single in Ellsworth of the sun coming-up in the morning over campus.

9th floor Ellsworth? I lived there too.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

9th floor Ellsworth? I lived there too.

My single was on the 7th or the 9th. Can't remember. Applied for a single instead of going off-campus because I was studying aboard my Junior year and trying to organize a bunch of friends for an apartment when one is 6,000 miles away in France at the down of the e-mail age was just impossible. It was nice having a single; but, it was a hike to most of campus, especially that winter in the cold & snow. I had lunch and dinner in Alumni (I believe that cafeteria is closed now) a lot because my friends lived there and it was much closer to the (old) business building. That said, being able to offer a close-by (if uphill) single, warm dorm after a fun night at Ted's or Huskies on many a winter nights was very attractive option to many young co-eds.

 

[mets1090]

Then when I finally started to talk to a company that I was interested and tried to hand them my resume, every single person told me "we don't accept resumes, please submit it on out website." Why were you even there if you're not accepting resumes? A DVD on loop could have done what you did. Fortunately, I posted my resume on CareerBuilder and I was found by a recruiter at my current job which I absolutely love. So I guess I got lucky.

I always thought not accepting resumes at a fair was the strangest thing. I get not wanting to have a bunch of lazy kids just spamming every company with a resume, but way to not reward kids for coming out. It's not like whoever reviews the online submissions is going to have any idea who you are from the fair so you basically gain nothing that you couldn't have gotten from just doing online research about the company. I've never even gotten a response from a company after submitting my resume online.

Casting a wide net with a bunch of different recruiters is probably the best way to go for recent grads. At this point (3 years out of college), I'm at my second job and I have a contact at most recruiting firms in the area. When I want to get a pulse on the job market, I send an email to all of them and over the next month or so I can see what's out there for someone with my experience.


p.s. My company has some unpredictable times coming up so if anyone here wants a young analyst type in the Fairfield County area with 2-3 years experience, I'm your man

 

[Chin Diesel]

I would think a well organized company would have the ability to scan and upload a resume to their resume reader. I grew up in the paper resume age but I understand electronic is today's norm.
Also agree that a company's reps should be encouraging vice discouraging applicants.

 

[mets1090]

I would think a well organized company would have the ability to scan and upload a resume to their resume reader.

I would hope so. There are free phone apps that let you take pictures of documents and automatically crops them and turns them into PDFs. Great for scanning paperwork, receipts, etc. Should be easy enough to integrate that with their website I would think.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I always thought not accepting resumes at a fair was the strangest thing. I get not wanting to have a bunch of lazy kids just spamming every company with a resume, but way to not reward kids for coming out. It's not like whoever reviews the online submissions is going to have any idea who you are from the fair so you basically gain nothing that you couldn't have gotten from just doing online research about the company. I've never even gotten a response from a company after submitting my resume online.

Casting a wide net with a bunch of different recruiters is probably the best way to go for recent grads. At this point (3 years out of college), I'm at my second job and I have a contact at most recruiting firms in the area. When I want to get a pulse on the job market, I send an email to all of them and over the next month or so I can see what's out there for someone with my experience.


p.s. My company has some unpredictable times coming up so if anyone here wants a young analyst type in the Fairfield County area with 2-3 years experience, I'm your man

The worst is when you call the company after submitting a resume and they just brush you off. I really wanted to get into working with the nuclear reactors on the submarines down in Groton. So I applied for Electric Boat both online and they were one of two companies (the other being UTC) accepting resumes at the job fairs. After a couple weeks of no response (with a couple emails sent as well), I called the HR department. They gave me such an attitude for calling because it says on their job postings "no phone calls please". It's like "I'm sorry for trying to be proactive in wanting to work for you company. I won't let it happen again" I didn't get a response from the until 10 months later in the form of letter saying they were going with another candidate. At that point I had two part time jobs so I just brushed it off.

It's frustrating these companies work nowadays. I remember my dad quit his job in the mid 90's and literally walked into another factory with his resume and started the following Monday. Now you can't even quit your job unless you have another one lined up or else you'll be stuck jobless for months at time.

 

[mets1090]

It's frustrating these companies work nowadays. I remember my dad quit his job in the mid 90's and literally walked into another factory with his resume and started the following Monday. Now you can't even quit your job unless you have another one lined up or else you'll be stuck jobless for months at time.

There are obviously tons of factors at play but I think the biggest reasons are the economy sucking and the internet. Thanks to the economy, companies have fewer openings. Thanks to the internet, they can take applicants from all over the state, country, or world depending on the scope of their business. Makes things way easier for the company and way harder for applicants. If you're willing to relocate or travel a ton, your odds of finding something desirable definitely go way up.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Worth the warning - trying to unsubscribe from linkedin email is nearly impossible. Don't give them your email unless you are serious about getting their email.

After creating your own, free junk mail email address, e.g., yahoo US, yahoo some other country, msn, hotmail, the free alumni email address you can obtain from many schools, etc., have you tried changing your LinkedIn subscription to the new email? If any LinkedIn messages go to an address enabling you to delete them monthly, it appears to be a partial fix.

 

[DoctorWho85]

There are obviously tons of factors at play but I think the biggest reasons are the economy sucking and the internet. Thanks to the economy, companies have fewer openings. Thanks to the internet, they can take applicants from all over the state, country, or world depending on the scope of their business. Makes things way easier for the company and way harder for applicants. If you're willing to relocate or travel a ton, your odds of finding something desirable definitely go way up.

I'd love to relocate. Not because of everything that's going on politically and financially in the state, but I just want to experience the world. There are a lot of engineering opportunities in my current company both nationally and internationally. It'll give me the chance to notch off one of my bucket list items. My hope is to be able to transfer to Japan and work their for a couple years. It's a crazy goal, but hopefully it all works out.

The internet is both a great and awful tool at the same time. It gives us the ability to access any sort of information at any giving time, but it also has made us as a people less interactive. Yes we have all these message boards, but look at all the people just staring at their phones when they're out at restaurants or the bar. I've made conscious effort to avoid using my phone when with friends, but I still find myself checking it once in a while.

I think companies have done the same thing. They basically say "Why do we need to see the person face to face or have a phone conversation when all the information we need is right in front of us." Personally, I'd like to see even technical occupations like my own, take a more retail/sales view of interviewing. Because I may not have the resume as say a Yale or MIT alumn, but I've worked in enough retail to understand the people interactions are just as important as technical knowledge. And sometimes you can't just be a Sheldon Cooper spewing back you're endless knowledge of physics and chemistry, sometimes you have to be life of the party and not just the nerd at home writing your report on a Saturday night.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I'd love to relocate. Not because of everything that's going on politically and financially in the state, but I just want to experience the world. There are a lot of engineering opportunities in my current company both nationally and internationally. It'll give me the chance to notch off one of my bucket list items. My hope is to be able to transfer to Japan and work their for a couple years. It's a crazy goal, but hopefully it all works out.

The internet is both a great and awful tool at the same time. It gives us the ability to access any sort of information at any giving time, but it also has made us as a people less interactive. Yes we have all these message boards, but look at all the people just staring at their phones when they're out at restaurants or the bar. I've made conscious effort to avoid using my phone when with friends, but I still find myself checking it once in a while.

I think companies have done the same thing. They basically say "Why do we need to see the person face to face or have a phone conversation when all the information we need is right in front of us." Personally, I'd like to see even technical occupations like my own, take a more retail/sales view of interviewing. Because I may not have the resume as say a Yale or MIT alumn, but I've worked in enough retail to understand the people interactions are just as important as technical knowledge. And sometimes you can't just be a Sheldon Cooper spewing back you're endless knowledge of physics and chemistry, sometimes you have to be life of the party and not just the nerd at home writing your report on a Saturday night.

I can't (and won't) speak for every situation but anecdotally I can safely say that personal relationships are still the best way to get a job. The job I have now was based on previous work with my manager and people we hire now all come with personal recommendations from people we trust.

Remember that just getting an interview via phone, video or in person means you are qualified for the job. Very few companies have personnel set aside to interview candidates whose qualifications are suspect. If you make it to interview it's about fit.

My advice in today's world is network, network, network. Develop a network professionally and socially via volunteering for extras at work and with social causes (coaching sports, United Way, etc). Companies aren't handing out 20 year contracts so it is on the worker to maintain a viable brand for future employment.

 

[SubbaBub]

The worst is when you call the company after submitting a resume and they just brush you off. I really wanted to get into working with the nuclear reactors on the submarines down in Groton. So I applied for Electric Boat both online and they were one of two companies (the other being UTC) accepting resumes at the job fairs. After a couple weeks of no response (with a couple emails sent as well), I called the HR department. They gave me such an attitude for calling because it says on their job postings "no phone calls please". It's like "I'm sorry for trying to be proactive in wanting to work for you company. I won't let it happen again" I didn't get a response from the until 10 months later in the form of letter saying they were going with another candidate. At that point I had two part time jobs so I just brushed it off.

It's frustrating these companies work nowadays. I remember my dad quit his job in the mid 90's and literally walked into another factory with his resume and started the following Monday. Now you can't even quit your job unless you have another one lined up or else you'll be stuck jobless for months at time.

I completely get where you are coming from, but until you get 140 resumes for each job opening and 135 of them aren't even close to minimum requirements you won't fully appreciate the no phone calls policies.

My suggestion is to try to make a contact from within the company to give you a referral to HR or whoever is the ultimate decision maker. That's what a job fair is about more than a pile of resumes.

The person at the booth is often just someone to pass out info on the company. They are rarely the decision maker on hiring for large organizations. But, the fact that they are there says they have enough cred to represent the company in public. So, they are someone worth getting to know.

If you come across well and have your stuff together, you might call that person and ask a bit more about the process which might turn into a referral to the right person. That Who person seemed like a good candidate you should interview him, etc.

If someone is just dumping their resume at the booth, the person probably did them a favor by not taking it.

 

[CL82]

I would hope so. There are free phone apps that let you take pictures of documents and automatically crops them and turns them into PDFs. Great for scanning paperwork, receipts, etc. Should be easy enough to integrate that with their website I would think.

Do you use one? Have a recommendation?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I can't (and won't) speak for every situation but anecdotally I can safely say that personal relationships are still the best way to get a job. The job I have now was based on previous work with my manager and people we hire now all come with personal recommendations from people we trust.

Remember that just getting an interview via phone, video or in person means you are qualified for the job. Very few companies have personnel set aside to interview candidates whose qualifications are suspect. If you make it to interview it's about fit.

My advice in today's world is network, network, network. Develop a network professionally and socially via volunteering for extras at work and with social causes (coaching sports, United Way, etc). Companies aren't handing out 20 year contracts so it is on the worker to maintain a viable brand for future employment.

Completely agree, though, even is not full proof. I applied for a job a few years back. I approached a guy I know at the company and he helped me get in the door and told me how great of a fit I would be, etc. I made it all the way to the finalist round of interviews and did not get and offer. Found out that his sister-in-law got the job. I have no issue with him doing that, its family afterall; but, he should have told me.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I completely get where you are coming from, but until you get 140 resumes for each job opening and 135 of them aren't even close to minimum requirements you won't fully appreciate the no phone calls policies.

My suggestion is to try to make a contact from within the company to give you a referral to HR or whoever is the ultimate decision maker. That's what a job fair is about more than a pile of resumes.

The person at the booth is often just someone to pass out info on the company. They are rarely the decision maker on hiring for large organizations. But, the fact that they are there says they have enough cred to represent the company in public. So, they are someone worth getting to know.

If you come across well and have your stuff together, you might call that person and ask a bit more about the process which might turn into a referral to the right person. That Who person seemed like a good candidate you should interview him, etc.

If someone is just dumping their resume at the booth, the person probably did them a favor by not taking it.

I get where you're coming from, but when I was looking for a job, I found it hard to find any sort of contacts. My first job out of college I was hired because they needed a lab tech and my dad said I could start that day. I hated that industry, so I was looking to get away from it completely. So I had no contacts inside companies I wanted to work. What got me the most interviews was staffing agencies. There a several ones that focus mainly on engineering, so I went through them and got several interviews that way.

The moral of the story is, is that it's tough for kids graduating right out of college with little to no experience. I get asked a lot "well why didn't you do internships?" And my response was "the majority of the internships weren't paying internships at the time and I was paying my own way through college with an apartment. So any free time I got during winter and summer break went to getting another job or two in order to survive the following semester." I'd love to set up something to be able to get kids that had/have to go through what I did in order to get the some experience.

 

[BlueDogs]

I used to go to the job fairs two or three times a year at UConn and was extremely disappointed in how they were handled from both the school and companies. It seems the schools set up the companies in no sort of organized fashion so I had to walk around aimlessly, trying to figure out which company hired chemical engineers. Then when I finally started to talk to a company that I was interested and tried to hand them my resume, every single person told me "we don't accept resumes, please submit it on out website." Why were you even there if you're not accepting resumes? A DVD on loop could have done what you did. Fortunately, I posted my resume on CareerBuilder and I was found by a recruiter at my current job which I absolutely love. So I guess I got lucky.

The problem with the whole thing is they think by attracting Phoenix and Hartford and Aetna and the usual suspects, their work is done. There is whole world of mid and small sized business doing some incredible work in numerous exciting areas ranging from nanotech, bio-tech, med devices, communications, mobile apps, etc.. I can tell you if there were smaller companies there that would not be the case and they would take your resume. They cannot afford to just check a box and just go through the motions.

Companies, like ours, are actually looking for young talented engineers, software developers, and next gen marketers. Instead, a percentage get sucked up into insurance companies, collect good pay and then rot away as a cog working on 20-30 year old technology for five or ten years until the next downsizing. The rest move out of CT because the market looks dead, but the reality is there is nearly an insatiable demand for STEM grads. UConn has just missed the boat.

If anybody knows any talented UConn software engineer or electrical engineer grads looking to work outside Boston, let me know and I'm happy to get them looked at. Just PM me.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I get where you're coming from, but when I was looking for a job, I found it hard to find any sort of contacts. My first job out of college I was hired because they needed a lab tech and my dad said I could start that day. I hated that industry, so I was looking to get away from it completely. So I had no contacts inside companies I wanted to work. What got me the most interviews was staffing agencies. There a several ones that focus mainly on engineering, so I went through them and got several interviews that way.

The moral of the story is, is that it's tough for kids graduating right out of college with little to no experience. I get asked a lot "well why didn't you do internships?" And my response was "the majority of the internships weren't paying internships at the time and I was paying my own way through college with an apartment. So any free time I got during winter and summer break went to getting another job or two in order to survive the following semester." I'd love to set up something to be able to get kids that had/have to go through what I did in order to get the some experience.

You are right about it being tough to get that first break. Don't worry about internships since that ship has sailed. I will repeat myself about finding a good civic cause and volunteer. You get involved with something like a local Relay For Life and you will literally meet hundreds of good contacts. Companies that are hiring will be at events like that and they understand that volunteers for any event are taking time out of their schedule to help a cause. And that is a trait that most every company will value. (And I'm not saying this in a cynical way. Find a cause that you believe in and volunteer 2-4 hours a month.)

 

[mets1090]

Do you use one? Have a recommendation?

Mine is called Cam Scanner. I know a friend of mine uses Genius Scan and says it's great for expensing receipts and things along those lines. I don't know if it does anything different than Cam Scanner or if they're basically the same thing but I would give those two a shot.

 

[SubbaBub]

I get where you're coming from, but when I was looking for a job, I found it hard to find any sort of contacts. My first job out of college I was hired because they needed a lab tech and my dad said I could start that day. I hated that industry, so I was looking to get away from it completely. So I had no contacts inside companies I wanted to work. What got me the most interviews was staffing agencies. There a several ones that focus mainly on engineering, so I went through them and got several interviews that way.

The moral of the story is, is that it's tough for kids graduating right out of college with little to no experience. I get asked a lot "well why didn't you do internships?" And my response was "the majority of the internships weren't paying internships at the time and I was paying my own way through college with an apartment. So any free time I got during winter and summer break went to getting another job or two in order to survive the following semester." I'd love to set up something to be able to get kids that had/have to go through what I did in order to get the some experience.

With the exception of a brief period between 1987 and 1992 it's always been tough to enter the workforce. Building a network is time consuming and not at all linear or satisfying in terms of immediately productive feedback. You just need to keep at it and look for opportunities for followup interactions with potential contacts.

I try to stick to the 2/6 rule with my network. Minimum two contact touches every six months. It doesn't always happen and never force an interaction, but it does get me thinkng about the people in my network on a regular basis and opportunities for productive collaborations.

For someone new, I suggest LinkedIn as a starting point if you haven't already. It's not perfect and there is a lot of chaff to sift through but if you are following companies and people in your industry you may find an opportunity.

The most important thing to remember is to be prepared and make the interactions count, especially the first one

Companies like hiring fresh blood because they have a chance to mold them without a lot of acquired bad habits. They hate hiring them because they know almost nothing and are costly to train. No, it doesn't make any sense. The best traits for young workers is enthusiasm, willingness and ability to learn quickly and take direction. It also helps to present yourself professionally at all times.

If the person is over 30, they probably remember being young but can't deal with those issues because they are trying to make their own moves. If they are over 35, this is nearly a certainty.

Keep at it and don't limit yourself to working at a particular company or too specific a job. And keep learning, a few certifications in whatever industry you are in goes a long way to showing professional commitment.

 

[DoctorWho85]

My ultimate goal is to start my own business. It's risky, but I like the idea of working for myself and putting in the blood, sweat and tears into me instead of some corporation. Don't get me wrong, I really do like my job, but the idea of running my own business sounds like a lot of fun (despite the amount of work I'll have to put in). I'd love to take on a newly grad to help them get some experience. Hopefully, I'll be successful enough to be able to do something like that.

 

[mets1090]

Out of curiosity, what type of company? And how far down the road? Almost all my friends studied engineering in college so I'm just wondering if there's any overlap.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Out of curiosity, what type of company? And how far down the road? Almost all my friends studied engineering in college so I'm just wondering if there's any overlap.

Not really sure right now. I had a lot of fun matching colors for a cosmetic packaging company at my last job, so maybe some type of color engineering (real thing I looked into it). If I went down that road, mostly would only need chemical engineers and color chemists. ANd this probably isn't for another 5 or 10 years. I want to get my PhD first.

 

[Drew]

Update: The Steel has been placed in the ground and the new STEM dorms are beginning to take shape:

http://www.topix.com/city/storrs-ct/2015/06/150624N4OHAF

 

[Drew]

Nathan Hale being turned into dorms:

The Daily Campus ‏@the_dailycampus 2h2 hours ago
NEWS | @NathanHaleInn to be turned into dormitory, by @jboelwerth http://dailycamp.us/1ivUy5B

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Nathan Hale being turned into dorms:

The Daily Campus ‏@the_dailycampus 2h2 hours ago
NEWS | @NathanHaleInn to be turned into dormitory, by @jboelwerth http://dailycamp.us/1ivUy5B

Been rumored for a while. Guess the next time visit Campus, I'll have to head over to Ted's to find a warm bed to crash for then night. In all seriousness though, UConn needs a 'nice' hotel on campus. Visiting professors, research folks, etc. need a place to stay and sending them over to Hartford overnight makes Storrs and UConn look like the minor leagues.

 

[uconndennis]

Been rumored for a while. Guess the next time visit Campus, I'll have to head over to Ted's to find a warm bed to crash for then night. In all seriousness though, UConn needs a 'nice' hotel on campus. Visiting professors, research folks, etc. need a place to stay and sending them over to Hartford overnight makes Storrs and UConn look like the minor leagues.

Didn't a marriott in Storrs Center get shot down not too long ago?