Welcome to UTA

This section is dedicated to all the newcomers to UTA … the oldies (seniors!) have no business reading this and laughing! Please remember your first few days in a strange country.

A new life has started or has it?

Well you finally landed in the land of your dreams, but you are having nightmares. You have taken a step so major that even looking back would be failure. Take heart, don't stress yourself out so soon. You have a long time to go. Some wise words: "Take A Chill Pill And Cool It. New lives need new modus operandi! "

Home away from home

Now that you are here, you need to live here and not just stay here. Make sure that you find yourself roommates with whom you can live and not just hang out with. At first it may seem difficult to do… a new country, new faces… whom do you trust, but trust us (!)..,..it will decide your frame of mind throughout your stay together. Your home away from home should be a place where you can go unwind and feel at peace when you want to do so.

Jobs / Assistantships / Scholarships
How do I get an assistantship / on-campus job?

This is the first question on almost every fresher's lips, on setting foot in UTA. Some bare basics on getting placed on campus :

1) Prepare your resume:
As a first step, please discard any lengthy resumes that you may have been using prior to

landing here. The idea of a resume is to give the prospective employer an idea of your basic abilities to carry out the desired job. So, a good resume may take the following format (within a single page, if possible):
Objective, Areas of Interest, Education, Work Experience, Relevant Projects, Computer Skills, Academic Honors, Other Achievements, References.
It is not necessary that you have to follow the above format exactly or use the same headings. You may want to add more or drop some if it is not relevant to you. You can refer to a sample resume at our website at
https://imacs-uta.tripod.com/resume
Remember -> Nobody expects a complete professional. Professionals are created here. What is expected though, is an enthusiastic individual who can show good interest, dedication, communication skills, hard work and a flair for doing the work combined with a good sense of humor (this works out in most places).

2) Be neat, well-groomed and well-clothed:

Neatness and good dressing are virtues and this is one of your best opportunities to exercise them. This will also act as a 'dress rehearsal' for those job interviews after graduation! Formals or informals are fine for campus jobs, as long as they are neat, tidy, smell-free and not flashy. Be smell-free ( this may sound trivial, but is an extremely important aspect). Please remember that everybody is smell-conscious out here.

It may help to remember this checklist (we do not mean to be harsh/rude on certain points made here, but  all this is meant only in a positive way for self-improvement) :

• Hair is clean, free of dandruff and well-groomed (does not mean an overdose of oil on the hair though!)
  
• Glasses fit, and are clean
  
• Fresh breath (onion, garlic and pickle-free!). Mouthwash and chewing gum are two simple and effective solutions commonly used.
  
• No unsettling facial hair
  
• No distracting jewelry
  
• No distracting mannerisms (like shaking of leg or biting your finger nails)
  

There is a saying out here: "The smart ones are the ones who land first with the best jobs on campus". That's the basic secret! Always be ready with multiple copies of your resume, keep your ears open for any new openings and your eyes open for any new posters announcing new openings. Network with people and find out if your seniors know of any new openings. Restrain the urge to sit at home! Go to every office and department that you see and find out possibilities of jobs or assistantships there. You also get to see the full campus this way! Most important of all, follow up on the resumes you have handed over to different places.

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