Shloka Ramshankar

On October 17 I attended the Undergraduate Internship Fair that occurred from 1:00 to
4:00 pm. This event was held in the Davidson Gundy Alumni Center. Up until this event, the
only other Jindal school sponsored event I had attended so far was an informational session by
the Career Management Center. I did not really know what to expect from the Internship Fair
prior to attending but it was a valuable experience and I am glad I went.
I had heard from upperclassmen and individuals at the Career Management Center that
recruiters at the Internship Fair do not prioritize freshman at the event. I went with this
expectation and planned to ask questions about improving my resume and tips for progressing at
UT Dallas. One realization I had after actually showing my resume to various recruiters is that
they barely skim the document. People have told me time and time again that employers hardly
look at resumes but the understanding truly set in when I was able to observe it in action. Upon
having this epiphany, I grew to appreciate the Jindal School resume format, as it really does
prioritize the most important aspects of an individual’s profile for recruiters.
Another realization that I had was that specialization is important for me to be more
marketable to recruiters in the future. A majority of the recruiters at the Internship Fair were
looking for Information Technology and Finance majors. As a global business major, I did not
fall into such categories. Additionally, a lot of recruiters I talked to further confirmed my
understanding of having a specialization by saying that I should try to find an industry focus as I
progress through college. The event further motivated me to seriously consider supply chain as a
double major, because it would allow me to specialize my global business focus and appear more
appealing to employers in the future.
As I was noticing the overwhelming amount of employers looking for information
technology majors, I decided that I should try to pursue some technical skills during my
undergraduate time. With the world becoming increasingly digitalized and automation
increasingly replacing basic human tasks, the demand for technological skills will only rise. I
decided that I should attempt to complete some Excel Analytics courses and search for certain
tech related skills that employers will be valuing in the future. If I could gain some skills under
my belt, my resume and hiring prospects would definitely improve.
For future internship fairs and other similar events, I will be working to further improve
my academic and professional profile. Firstly, I definitely have to maintain high grades and
establish good relationships with my professors. Next on the agenda is developing technical
skills that were aforementioned. Further, I will strive to expand my LinkedIn network in order to
have a stronger online presence among potential recruiters in the future. I also will strive to earn
leadership positions in the organizations I am involved in, as all companies value leadership
experience in their new recruits. As I am a global business major, I have a language focus as
well. I have particularly chosen to study Spanish, so I will be working to reach a conversational
level in that. I personally believe that having another language as a skill would open doors for me
within companies that may not have existed before. Additionally, being able to converse in
Spanish might increase the likelihood of me being able to go abroad for work purposes.
Overall, I was uncertain as to what to expect from the Undergraduate Internship Fair.
However, it gave me insight into how I should improve my resume and further enlightened me
about specializing my degree plan. I also gained the resolve to improve personal and professional
skills of mine to increase my marketability in the future. For future similar events sponsored by
the business school, I will be able to apply the lessons from this first internship event to be
successful.