Career Fair: Effective for all?
For some, the Career Fair was a light at the end of the tunnel. For others it may have been merely a chance to make oneself known.
Utah State University hosted its Career Fair in the TSC Ballroom and Sunburst Lounge on March 5. Employers came from national, state and local-based companies to offer interview opportunities and general information for students who were interested.
“Coming to the Career Fair is like hitting the jackpot for the job-seeking, downhearted college student,” said Jaque Jacobs, a junior majoring in business. “I didn’t know that there were so many job openings, but it is packed full with glittering treasures and gems of jobs. It would be a dream to work at any of these places, especially IBM, Hewlett Packard, or for the FBI.”
Employers also see the Career Fair as an asset.
“This is the best Career Fair in Utah”, said Glen Forbes, a sales and customer service representative from Enterprise Rent-a-Car.
Forbes said that he had received about 50 applications by mid-Wednesday morning, and more kept coming in. His company was especially looking for students interested in sales and customer service who were also willing to work in Ogden and Salt Lake.
Although many companies that attended the Career Fair were accepting résumés, few students had a job offered to them on the spot.
One of these students, Aaron Sutliff, a senior majoring in finance and economics, was out to find his career. He came dressed in a suit and tie and carried a portfolio full of résumés.
He spoke with representatives from Bank of Utah, Northwest Finance and Wells Fargo, hoping for interviews, but didn’t get any offers. Most companies are following this same strategy. They come mainly to accept résumés to keep on file for future use.
However, some lucky students like Denise Winter, a senior majoring in public relations were offered interviews. Winter had two interviews in one day, one with a company called Stryker, and the other with one called Endoscopy.
The Career Fair offered many job opportunities for students majoring in everything from accounting to theater arts.
Disneyworld was offering students a paid internship through their Walt Disney World College Program.
“We have tons of openings,” said Jenna Roveche, a Disneyworld representative who worked as “Pocahontas” last summer in Orlando.
She said students from all over the United States come to live in the Disneyworld student housing complex and have the “time of their life” while working as a Disney character, acting on stage, or even flipping hamburgers at the nearest Pinocchio or Dumbo ride restaurant.
On the other end of the spectrum, students majoring in computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science may find promising careers with IBM or other big names like Microsoft and HP.
Ken Stevens, an IBM representative, said that they had received 150 résumés by mid-Wednesday morning and they were conducting about 10 interviews per day from students.
“We’re kind of selective in our interviewing process,” Stevens said.
He said this fact accounts for the difference in number of résumés versus the number of interviews at IBM, but it’s not a reason to give up or lose hope. IBM keeps résumés and applications on file through its online service and review them as jobs become available.
The Career Fair was a handy tool for engineering as well as accounting majors.
JC Penney representative, Margie Brunn, said her company was looking primarily for accountants.
Brunn said she didn’t have any openings as of now, but was looking for résumés. Like IBM, JC Penney keeps students’ applications on file and goes there first when an opening comes up.
–karalcam@cc.usu.edu