Ready to Stand out?
Getting involved in student life is a great way to stand out by growing your network, making friends and enhancing your learning outside of the classroom!
I started at Texas A&M University in August 2018. As of writing this blog, I am still in school to finish my undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering. Furthermore, I am not expected to graduate until December 2024. That is a total of 6.5 years being in school. I have had multiple rejections and recently had an offer rescinded because of my GPA.
Maybe you are someone who has faced rejections in job offers or other areas. Maybe you are someone who finds themselves struggling to be a performing student due to test anxiety. Maybe you are also going through something personal like a traumatic breakup. In my five years here, I’ve had those headwinds. These are my tips to help you stand out, succeed in spite of those pitfalls and perhaps land your first internship.
Persist in networking, following up and learning
In addition to going to the career fair, attack job hunting differently. What worked twice for me was learning to follow up after a rejection. I received a rejection letter for my first internship, so I emailed back asking what I could have done better and if the recruiter could spend some time providing feedback on my resume. That was the most constructive feedback I have ever received (to date) regarding my resume. But I was receptive and applied his advice. After several months, he thought of me when picking interns. I was also rejected by an organization until I followed up with the president expressing interest in what resources I could utilize to continue improving myself. Consequently, I was reconsidered and admitted.
Leverage your involvement
One of the best things in your toolbox is relationships. There is more context when meeting a recruiter if you already know them personally. But back up that context with experience such as:
- Be seen time and time again at information sessions.
- Communicate questions and interests consistently.
- Be up to date with what’s happening.
- Know what a company’s goals are from listening to their learning calls.
- Take the initiative to lead an event.
- Be involved in your student organizations.
Leadership can’t just be learned in the classroom; it requires experience. I gained tons of knowledge from being a Corps of Cadets member, an SPE co-director and currently AADE director. I’m now combining everything I learned to effectively lead an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Petroleum Division branch.
Self-reflect and believE
Before I left for my internship last summer, I learned I had to retake a course and that my graduation was delayed. My professor told me, “Aaron, you are a smart person. You are a great student who always shows up to class and is engaged. I really hate seeing you in this situation.” I broke out in tears because I had never heard anyone, let alone a professor, tell me that. Despite my grade, he believed in me and showed fairness and encouragement. The last advice he told me was, “Next semester, I want you to be a leader in the classroom. Don’t just be a passenger in the seat; be in the driver’s spot. Help your peers and be my voice outside the classroom.”
To this day, that advice resonates: learn from failure and self-reflect, learn to take initiative, learn to lead, learn to teach and help others. Overall, it helped me be a better person and continue to be a person who is capable of recovering quickly from obstacles.
Lead yourself with optimism
Lastly, find opportunity even in the midst of failure. Looking back, I believe graduating on time would not have allowed me to intern with the companies I have. Rushing quickly to the finish line would not have allowed me to meet so many people, some of whom I consider my lifelong friends, and to find out what this university truly has to offer, such as learning about different organizations and opportunities to challenge myself. Having a job rescinded allowed me to devote more time not only to my studies, but also to participate in another student development internship program. We are all going to experience hardship. Learn to do this while in a relatively risk-free university environment before going out in the real world. If you truly believe your GPA doesn’t define you, my response is, “Go out there and prove it!” Never ever stop or lose your passion for learning and exploring the world out there while continuing to improve yourself.
Petroleum Engineering, Class of 2023
If you found this blog post interesting, you may consider reading “How I pulled off an internship, travel and two classes in one summer” and “How I broke into an industry I knew nothing about.”