College of Management and CHASS Career and Internship Fair taking place February 2nd 10-4 at the McKimmon Center.

Who's going?

It's my first career/internship fair experience, a little nervous about it

1/13/2009 1:35:42 PM

I'm gonna b there looking a internship for the summer.

1/14/2009 12:35:29 PM

This event is how I got in contact with the company I now work for. Very glad I went.

1/14/2009 12:43:54 PM

Quote :

"I'm gonna be there looking a internship for the summer for free stuff."

1/14/2009 3:31:59 PM

Good job already deciding to go to Career fairs. Even if you're not ready for a job/graduating, you accomplish a couple things going to career fairs.

1. Experience talking to people on a professional level. It's not that intimidating after the first couple booths.
2. Make contacts. Sometimes they send people with nothing better to do to career fairs, sometimes they send people that are actually interested and enthusiastic about their companies.
3. Get internship information. Internships are a great road to getting hired. If you can come in and not mess up too badly as an intern, it moves you to the top of people they are familiar with that are applying for jobs after graduation.

PS. If you have certain companies that you're interested in that are going to be there, make sure to know a decent amount about them and also have questions ready to ask the recruiters.

Good luck and don't be nervous.

[Edited on January 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM. Reason : .]

1/14/2009 3:42:42 PM

I'm a senior and I have yet to go to one of these things. Whoops. I'll definitely be there.

1/14/2009 7:51:34 PM

The job market is going to be abysmal. Unless you want to work for the government, you should try to lock up an offer immediately.

1/14/2009 8:04:45 PM

I met my employer at the one last fall....to get a job in the financial sector with this economy...

1/14/2009 8:31:17 PM

I just graduated, can I go?

1/14/2009 8:32:20 PM

^*5

Thanks for that advice. I'm only a sophomore, so I know I don't have all of the credentials that the upperclassmen have, and my resume doesn't have too much on it, though I kept my previous job for 3 years, and have many extracurriculars.

I already have a job pretty much lined up for the summer, but it would be nice to snag an internship from there, though I don't expect it. Just don't want to have all of my eggs in one basket.

I'm sure the experience will help me out in the future though...

1/14/2009 9:35:47 PM

I should have gone to one of these but they always were scheduled at the same time as my job

1/14/2009 9:45:56 PM

is anyone actually going to be hiring for this summer?

1/15/2009 4:25:38 PM

Quote :

"I just graduated, can I go?"

Just walk in there and start talking to employers. Get a "hello my name is" tag if you aren't sure the student ID system will have you registered any more and just start talking to people. These aren't super closed door member only events, lol.

1/15/2009 4:35:45 PM

i'd say if you know of a few companies youre interested in, research it some and ask questions. make sure you are actually interested in what they do. also, try and kick in a little "laid back" conversation to make them think you're more than just a robot. it's all about making yourself stand out from the others.

1/15/2009 8:26:26 PM

i searched the website and couldn't find it but is there a list of employers?

2/1/2009 1:34:43 PM

there is a list of employers under epack, then go to career events and the list is under there.

2/1/2009 10:42:09 PM

im gonna stop at the mcdonalds booth and the starbucks booth

maybe the dominos booth

2/1/2009 11:28:34 PM

My first career fair as well. Graduating in the summer, so I figured it could do me some good. BTW, what kind of paper should I print my resume on and for those who have been, how did you approach recruiters to give them your resume? On the one hand, I guess they expect it, but on the other, I don't want to be like, "Hi, my name is Catie, please hire me." *extends resume* lol.

2/1/2009 11:37:27 PM

^ As a person who has been a jobseeker as well as a recruiter at career fairs, I can assure you that you will essentially be saying just that, albeit in a different way. You're there to find a job and recruiters know this, put as many resumes in the hands of recruiters as you can. However, you also need to be able to sell yourself using material that may not be on your resume. I would highly recommend looking over the list of companies that will be in attendance and get to know a bit about the ones that may even remotely interest you. The most frustrating thing that I encountered as a recruiter was people coming up, asking for a job, yet having no idea what we did (Americans should at least have a vague idea of what the State Department does).

2/2/2009 12:05:41 AM

i'll be at the booth for the MPA program, stop by and talk me up

2/2/2009 12:07:56 AM

Quote :

"Americans should at least have a vague idea of what the State Department does"

aha, I'm guessing those resumes went straight into the trash can

2/2/2009 12:13:45 AM

I'm a chem major, graduated in December

Should I go? I don't see any employers that would be interested in me

2/2/2009 12:28:02 AM

^^ If I even accepted a resume from them in the first place

2/2/2009 12:42:58 AM

Thanks Ski, it's going to be a long day...I'll be in DH Hill until 8am finishing a paper... : (

Can you give me any tips on the best way to approach a recruiter? As in, what stood out to you?

2/2/2009 3:46:50 AM

Dress nicely, approach the recruiter with confidence, know a little bit about the company, have an idea of what type of job(s) you are interested in with that company, be able to talk about yourself and the assets you bring to the table in the span of just a minute or two.

I was always fairly intimidated by the whole idea of pimping myself out to recruiters at career fairs until I found myself on the other side of the table. Most recruiters are laid back and trying to have a good time. Don't be intimidated by the process. Also don't get discouraged when most recruiters tell you to go check/apply on their company's website. You will hear this a lot these days but give the recruiters your resume anyway. They may just put it in the pile with the rest (or the trashcan), but you never know what will happen.

2/2/2009 10:40:39 AM