Career Services Blog

Today’s Career Coach Spotlight is Clara Peterson. Clara is a fifth year Chemical Engineering major with minors in Spanish and Mathematical Sciences. She enjoys helping students with LinkedIn and Resume building. 

She says, “I love to share the knowledge I have gained through my two years of internships and co-ops. Career Services always feels like home to me! Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. My favorite memory of Career Services is when we celebrated the holiday season with a festive staff party!”

In her spare time, Clara is extremely involved with the Visual and Performing Arts Department here on campus; specifically being involved with Concert Choir and a theatre production in the Rozsa Performing Arts Center or McArdle theatre. Clara is also the President of Blue Key Honor Society this year, meaning she will be overseeing the famous Winter Carnival!

We are excited to have Clara on the team and we know she’ll do great things!

Today’s Career Coach Spotlight is Joey. Joey is a Third Year Accounting and Finance Major from Superior Wisconsin. He likes helping students with Resumes and Job Searching. 

He says, “It is so rewarding when you get to see people smile after their appointment because they now have a direction to go. It makes my day. My favorite memory of Career Services was getting to lead the first timers tours at Career Fair.”

In his off time, Joey is also in the KSI Accounting club, the Finance club, and on the MTU Cheer team.

We are excited to have Joey on the team and we know he’ll do great things!

Have you ever considered pursuing a job opportunity in a different country? A local to Minnesota, Nils Justen took a huge leap – approximately 4,346 miles across the Atlantic Ocean –  and completed a co-op in Ingolstadt, Germany at Audi’s headquarters.

Working at headquarters broadened the learning experience for Nils through the chance to interact with all operations of the company – engineering, design and testing, marketing, and upper management were all in the same place.

“I gained insight into many exciting areas of the company. My role definitely wasn’t just copies and coffee,” Nils explained, “I was in chassis engineering. My position revolved around working with different departments to compile function-based test procedures for prototype vehicles in order to ensure a more uniform and transparent development process between various divisions. I was also involved in project planning for future models.”

The decision to work abroad was a daunting thought for Nils, but the benefits far outweighed the risk and greatly impacted his trajectory and goals. Not knowing what to expect when he arrived in Germany, Nils flew out of Minnesota with two suits in his bag and more ties than he’d like to admit.

“There’s a few aspects of living in Germany that I’m not sure I will ever get used to: the lack of free refills, paying to use a public restroom, and the confused looks I got when I assumed water at a restaurant was free. I was surprised at how quickly I transitioned to my new surroundings and found my place in the company and my community in Ingolstadt. Of course, I was also pleasantly surprised at how few people wore a suit and tie. The six months I spent in Ingolstadt made me realize that the idea of pursuing graduate studies in Europe wasn’t so far fetched.”

Nils encourages all students to pursue internships and co-ops. They are a risk-free way to explore a field you think you might be passionate about. The more experience you have, the better you’re able to find a job that you’ll look forward to every day. Also encouraging students to go out of their comfort zones and pursue international opportunities, Nils explains, “There are more opportunities like this out there than people think. Sure, you might not be able to live at home and you’ll be away from friends and family, but it’ll certainly challenge you to broaden your perspective. There’s something to be said for taking that leap of faith. There’s tremendous potential for growth in those experiences.”

Picture this: you apply for a job and get called in for an interview. A few days later, you receive a call saying, “We’re sorry, but you’re just not the right fit for our company.” What’s next? Do you get upset and discouraged, give up, and decide that you don’t want to change anything? Or do you thank them for their time, learn from your mistakes, and try again?

Haley Hall is a engineering management and marketing student in the School of Business and Economics. In a family of entrepreneurs, Haley chose two degrees that would allow her to own a business someday. Engineering management offers flexibility and a multitude of career options and marketing allows her to utilize her creativity and gain skills on building and maintaining a brand.

After interviewing for a digital marketing internship in Career Services with Jennifer Wall, Career Services Communications Manager, Haley was not selected for the position. However, that connection led her to an entirely different opportunity.

Haley’s passion and enthusiasm left a good impression with Jennifer, and when  Jennifer attended Grand Traverse Day in October, she spoke to Katie Horvath, CEO of Naveego, who was looking for a digital marketing intern to work remotely. Jennifer recommended Haley for the position. Haley received a phone interview with the vice president of sales and marketing and was offered the job shortly after.

“The funny this is,” Haley said, “I never even spoke directly to Katie. Jennifer’s recommendation must have been very good! Making connections with people at Michigan Tech can be very beneficial in obtaining job opportunities. If I never applied for the job with Career Services, I would not know Jennifer, she would not have recommended me to Katie, and I definitely would not have a job at Naveego right now.”

After completing her internship with Naveego, Haley will explore her other major: engineering management. Haley has been offered an internship with Permasteelisa as an assistant project manager and will work there during summer 2019.