First-Gen Students Get Career Tips at New Conference
Starting and navigating the career-planning process can be daunting for any college student, but especially for those who will be the first in their families to graduate from college.
Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ęās and hosted the campusās inaugural First Generation Career Conference earlier this month. The full-day event included a keynote speaker, workshops led by recruiting professionals, and a networking reception in an effort to build career development knowledge and address the unique career challenges first-generation students face when transitioning through college.
āOur goal with the conference is to get students thinking about what comes next,ā Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education Elizabeth Whitt said. āThe pathways for success need to be perfectly clear, especially for students who come here not well-versed on how to be a college student.ā
Because 72 percent of Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ęās undergraduate students are first-generation, developing programs that connect students to existing career resources is crucial to improving their success.
āWe canāt think of student success as their job; itās our job,ā Whitt said. āThey have a lot of work to do, but we have to create the opportunities.ā
More than 100 first-generation students started the day hearing from Twitterās head of Revenue, General & AdministrativeĀ and University Recruiting Trier-Lynn Bryant. Bryant is prominently involved as a trainer and facilitator at , a nonprofit that advocates for first-generation students.
She first visited Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę last fall for a Twitter recruitment event at which she hosted club and organization leaders for a diversity and inclusion networking dinner.
The diversity theme was prominent during her conference keynote as well. Bryant described experiences from her time in the military, as a finance officer on Wall Street and in her current role in the tech world. She encouraged the students to use their diversity to their advantage.
āSomething I learned in the Air Force that has been very impactful for me is: Different equals diversity, and thatās leverage,ā she said. āAs a first-generation college student, you have a different experience and youāre going to look at things differently.ā
Different equals diversity, and thatās leverage.
Professional services recruiters with Aerotek, one of the largest staffing and recruiting company in the U.S., led workshops on interviewing and resume building. Jess Smith shared tips for students to transform their resume into a powerful tool that will get interviews. Ludieliz Silaya shared the best strategies to have a flawless interview.
A highlight for many students was a workshop led by Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę alumnus William Torrez on how to leverage LinkedIn to network with recruiters.
Torrez, who is from Californiaās Inland Empire and graduated in 2014 with a degree in cognitive science, has worked for several companies in different industries and has gained significant job search experience. Now, he leads university recruitment for Procore Technologies, a global construction software company.
During his first couple of years at Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę, Torrez worked the 6 a.m. shift at the Lantern CafĆ©. He didnāt start thinking about his career aspirations until he worked as a student assistant in the and served as director of Communications and Public Affairs for the .
He recalled the time he asked Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Charles Nies for advice about whether to study abroad or intern at PG&E the following semester.
āCharles said, āDo both!āā Torrez said. āSo I did, and I have no regrets.ā
During his workshop, Torrez provided tips on how to connect with recruiters and emphasized the need for networking.
āEach time you apply for a job, immediately connect with the hiring manager through LinkedIn,ā Torrez said. āReferrals are key. Ask your first connections to make introductions and then follow up with them through a LinkedIn direct message.ā
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