By Mays Center
Thursday, 07 15 2021

The inaugural Next Steps event, including a recruitment fair, hosted over 100 student participants and 40 employer representatives this past Friday, September 24th. This event hoped to help students and alumni connect with employers for internships and jobs and help students get information about careers, coach professional development, and take at least one NEXT STEP toward a career goal. Students participated in networking tables in the morning that included topics such as transferable skills and how to talk about them (Air Force Civilian), first-generation college student tips and advice for college and job search (City Year), the art of an introduction (Urban Teachers), resume coaching (Lone Star Bank), finding the suitable internships (San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo), financial considerations, leveraging your Strengths, and taking your professional headshot. All of these were also supported by Mays Center and other partnering staff members. Enterprise Holdings sponsored a lunch for students and employers as our keynote speaker, Lindsey Pollak, New York Times, Bestselling Author, discussed critical next steps for our Jaguars. She featured A&M-SA and Jaguars in her latest Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work.

Following this, employers greeted students as they recruited talented individuals for various full-time and internship positions at the recruitment fair portion of the event. Following the fair, employers shared that they were excited about the “ambitious students eager for their future career paths” and a “great first experience [with A&M-SA].” They also mentioned that “students were so enthused and genuinely engaged” and “students were very prepared and asked tons of questions,” which were part of what made it a positive experience for our guests.

Students commented that they enjoyed: “the bonding over learning new things,” “meeting new people and practicing networking,” “the insights of employers and learning what they look for,” and “getting to speak with people who have relatable, real-world experience.” One student noted that “the atmosphere was welcoming, and the experience was enriching and inspiring.” We look forward to sharing more of the success stories students build from this event on our social media platforms under the hashtag #CareerReady.