For those entering their senior year, the pressures of finding a job post-graduation is at the forefront of their minds; for underclassmen, those pressures still exist, but are not yet magnified, as they begin to network with those who could be their potential future employer. To cater to both of these groups, the Career Planning Center will hold their Annual Fall Career & Internship Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
“The purpose of the fair is to provide students the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with representatives of organizations who are interested in hiring from Fairfield. It is a chance to network with and begin identifying companies that look appealing for future employment or internship prospects,” said Cathleen Borgman, director of the CPC.
Senior Verna Michaud has attended every fall career fair since her freshman year.
“The career fair is a great opportunity for students of all majors to meet with a variety of companies to find opportunities for leadership programs, internships and careers,” Michaud said.
An accounting major, Michaud was able to meet with top accounting firms at the fair. “As a first-year, I went to the career fair to see what it was all about and ended up meeting with recruiters from the Big Four firms. This was my first exposure to them and was what led to my eventual full-time job offer,” she said.
Some students feel worried about the fair’s offerings in non-business fields.
“I hope it will be helpful since it’s my last year, but I expect for there to be little for those majoring in the sciences like psychology and biology. It’s difficult because some companies don’t seek them,” said Val Aguillon ‘16, a psychology major.
Senior Myles Golymbieski-Rey, a math major, agreed, saying “a lot of financial companies use applied math, so I feel like I can still be competitive against business majors; but people who have majors that are less directly connected to that will probably be at some kind of disadvantage.”
“I don’t think that communication majors will have a disadvantage at the career fair. Businesses need marketing departments, and communication and marketing go hand-in-hand. I think there will be a lot of opportunities. But I think that other majors in the College of Arts and Sciences get gypped,” said Tim Leach ‘16, a communication major.
Over 90 companies will be at the Career & Internship Fair, including Big Four accounting firms, the Camuto Group, Synchrony Financial, Cius Energy and Prosek Partners. Additionally, there will representatives from a host of various industries looking to talk to students.
According to Borgman, the key to a successful experience is being prepared.
“Do your research before the day of the fair. Look up who will be attending and identify those companies you know you want to visit,” she said, adding, “Have several copies of your resume ready (not your high school resume), put on a suit or professional outfit and come to Alumni Hall.”
Borgman also noted that, while it’s OK to attend the event with friends, traveling in packs can hinder the fair experience.
“You want future employers to see you as an individual who is able to function independently,” she said.
Underclassmen can use the career fair as an opportunity to get acquainted with the career-finding process.
Sophomore Alex Arias hopes that the event will be a good starting ground for looking into careers.
“I’m hoping that I can learn about what it means to be in the workplace and how the internship process goes. As a sophomore, it feels like a good time to start thinking about my future, and hopefully the career fair helps,” said Arias.
While the fair is geared towards juniors and seniors, both Borgman and Michaud believe that it is never too early to experience the event.
“The career fair is something that every student should take advantage of. Even if they are unsure of what they want to do for a career, it never hurts to go out and talk to different companies to see what options are out there,” said Michaud.
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