Good Morning Geographers and Sustainers,

Alexis Andershock and I are happy to announce that the Geography and Sustainability Virtual Career Mingle will be happening on Wednesday, October 25 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET via Handshake. Alexis and I are especially proud that we have guests representing all of our department’s subdisciplines (human geography, physical geography, sustainability, urban planning, GIST, and education and outreach) attending. That means all of you (all undergraduate and graduate students) should be able to find multiple people to connect with. There are descriptions of attendees below, and many of them are departmental alum. In case you’ve never attended a career mingle before, see below for details on the format, what to expect, etc. If you have any questions about who you should set up one-on-one meetings with, please read the attendee descriptions below and feel free to stop by my office for help.

Register for the event and sign up for one-on-one informational interviews on Handshake here.

Michael Camponovo

GIS Outreach Coordinator and GIST Program Director

Department of Geography and Sustainability, University of Tennessee Knoxville

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https://gislab.utk.edu/

What is a career mingle? Unlike a traditional job fair, you won’t be the one getting interviewed. Instead, this is an opportunity to have informational interviews with a wide variety of organizations so you can learn about all the varied careers that employ geographers and sustainers. To reiterate, there is NO expectation that the organizations attending the career mingle will be hiring. If you go into the event with that expectation you will be sorely disappointed.

What is an informational interview? Great question. An informational interview gives you the opportunity to ask questions from the attendees so you can learn more about the wide variety of organizations and industries that hire geographic thinkers. Alexis Andershock has recorded a short video describing what an informational interview is and how to prepare for one. The UTK Center for Career Development has more resources to prepare at https://bit.ly/3kuq1pc.

How long is each one-on-one informational interview? Each interview is 10 minutes, so come prepared with your questions. If you have additional questions and want to follow up, please ask the attendee for their preferred contact information and set up a time to reconnect.

When is the event? The virtual career mingle will be on Wednesday October 25, 2023 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET.

How do I get registered for the event? You will use your UTK Handshake account to register for the event and sign up for one-on-one interviews. This PDF contains screen captures to walk you through the process.

How do I know what organizations will be attending the event? Log into Handshake, open the Geography Career Mingle event, scroll down, click on the attending organizations link. See below for additional details.