Find Jobs and Internships

Companies source and recruit potential employees through a variety of methods, thus students may want to use a combination of avenues to find opportunities:

from exploring potential jobs and internships with 100+ employers in one day at a career fair to connecting via social media, such as LinkedIn.

The Employer Perspective: The Job Search | Panel Discussion from September 2020 available through the Engineering Career Center.

Career Fairs & related events

The KU Engineering Career Centers hosts two major career fairs each year targeting just engineering and computing students.

Students are highly encouraged to attend both the September and February career fairs since different companies may be at each event.

Career Fairs

Wednesday, September 16, 2020 from 10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Online

List of participating companies available in mid-August

IHAWKe Diversity Event

Information coming soon!

Thursday, February 18, 2021 from 10:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Online

List of participating companies available in mid-January

  • Current KU students (any major).
  • Previous students or alumni of KU (any major).
  • Current students attending KU pre-engineering or dual degree engineering programs at Baker University and Washburn University.
  • Current students attending KU dual degree IT program at Johnson County Community College.
  • Current students attending Haskell Indian Nations University - as part of the Haskell / KU Partnership
  • Individuals who attended colleges/ universities outside of the immediate area (75 mile radius) may pre-register to attend by requesting reciprocal services.
  • Individuals requesting reciprocal services should have their college career center email ecc@ku.edu & request reciprocal services on your behalf (include your name, your email, university name, and years attended or graduated).
  1. Write or update your resume & have it reviewed by the Engineering Career Center.
  2. Prepare a 30 second "commercial" about yourself ("elevator speech") & practice it. Here's How.
  3. Know the "Key Qualities" companies seek & include your strengths / skills that align with these qualities in your resume & 30 second "commercial".
  4. Select professional attire.
  5. Research companies - an online list of participating organizations (searchable by major) will be available at the beginning of each semester.
  6. Develop a few questions for your favorite companies.
  7. Plan your arrival time & strategy (choose & prioritize companies).
  8. Print off multiple copies of resumes on resume paper (available free at the Engineering Career Center Room 1410 LEEP 2).
  9. Pack-up supplies (pen, paper, resumes in a nice folder or padfolio to keep them looking crisp, small shoulder bag type purse for keys & phone if no pockets).
  10. Arrange to leave laptops / valuables at home or other safe place if possible (since no locked storage space available at career fair).
  • Consider traveling to the fair in comfortable shoes, then switching to dress shoes.
  • Use your KU ID (seven digit, all numbers) to check-in at the Career Fair & get your nametag.
  • Wear your nametag on your right side.
  • If this is your first career fair, wait to talk with your favorite companies until you've approached a few other employers.
  • Greet employers with a firm handshake and maintain good eye contact.
  • Utilize your prepared 30 second "commercial" and questions for company.
  • Request a business card or contact information for follow-up.
  • After leaving the company booth, double check business card includes the name of the person you spoke with.
  • Take note of conversation and next steps.
  • Send a thank you letter or email.

On Campus Interviews & Info Sessions

During the fall & spring semesters, employers visit campus to interview students for internship, co-op and full-time positions.

To ensure complete access to all opportunities, students should "register" with the Engineering Career Center (ECC) - which provides permission for the ECC to release student resumes to employers, among other things. 

Job & Internship Postings

HireJayhawks.com is the crossroads between Jayhawk engineering and computing students and prospective employers.

A quick snapshot of recent job, internship, and research postings (divided into ) is available at:

Full-time postings
Internship postings
Research opportunities

HireJayhawks

Position postings for college students typically are cyclical, with larger numbers of listings in the beginning of each semester.
Check out the complete list of HireJayhawks.ku.edu postings and other opportunities.
Current students use KU online ID and password to log-in (the same log-in used to access Blackboard and other KU-related portals).
Alumni or students who have questions or difficulty logging in should contact the Engineering Career Center.

HireJayhawks.ku.edu logo

Government Positions

Explore.options and programs.

Finding Companies

Discover potential employers by specific, industries, location, interests, majors, or other criteria.

The six digit codes from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), provided by the U.S. government, can be utilized in a number of KU library databases to search for companies by industry & headquarters location.  For example, in the Business Insights Essentials database, you could enter 339112 to find a list of over 1000 Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing Companies in the U.S.

KU Libraries - Industry and Company Research

Whether considering your career path or preparing for a job interview it is helpful to research the industry and companies relevant to your job opportunities. This guide highlights some resources available via KU Libraries that you can use.

The annual ENR Top Lists are helpful for identifying the top revenue producing engineering design &/or engineering contractors by specific area- for example, the top 20 design firms in the water sector.  In addition these lists categorize general revenue sources for each company - for example, for XYZ Engineering: 50% of company revenue comes from General Building design, 10% from design projects in the Power sector, and so forth.  Please contact an career advisor in the Engineering Career Center for more assistance with this resource - ecc@ku.edu

Vault Career Insider provides in-depth intelligence on what it’s really like to work in an industry, company or profession — and how to position yourself to land that job. Free access provided by KU Career Services.

ThomasNet.com

Serves as a resource for product sourcing and suppliers and thus may be helpful for students searching for potential organizations in niche industries.

Virtual Opportunities

Virtual or Remote Jobs and Internship Links

  • VirtualVocations - remote jobs and internship positions
  • Jobspresso - curated list of remote jobs, a few internships
  • We Work Remotely - large remote work community
  • Remote.co - pretty active job postings; more computing positions than engineering
  • Parker Dewey - compiles Micro-internship opportunities
  • FlexJobs - Engineering jobs.  You need to become a member to see some postings.

Virtual positions listed on Traditional Job Boards

Be especially vigilant of fraudulent postings in these unprecendented times.  Be wary of any position that seems to good to be true or asks for personal information such as bank accounts or social security numbers.

Project or Gig Jobs

Look for "micro" internships or gig jobs to gain experience: short-term, professional, paid work experiences (typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work.) In addition to Parker Dewey, KU Mentoring has a new feature that connects students with KU alumni who have project work available.

How to Get a Gig Job - Indeed