Eager Fairfield students attended the semi-annual Career and Internship Fair located in Alumni Hall in order to connect and network with employers to find jobs and internships.
The roster of employers this year included a wide array of companies, such as BMW, Verizon Wireless, Deloitte and Touche, the U.S. Marines, the FBI, Beisdorf Skin Care, Cotiviti Health Care, Power Home Remodeling, Goodwill, St. Joseph School of Pharmacy, Norwalk Housing Authority and many more.
Diversity in employers has always been something the Career Planning Center attempts to achieve in the companies who attend. According to Director of the CPC Cathleen Borgman, “The Career Planning Center has always reached out to a variety of companies that would appeal to the diverse range of student majors and interests. Each year we invite several hundreds to campus; unfortunately inviting organizations to attend and having them say yes, can often be challenging.” Borgman continued to explain that over the past few years, a positive turn in our economy has helped spur more involvement from employers at the Career Fair, as well as “a wonderful young alumni base who have impressed their employers, making them want to hire more Stags into their organization.”
Borgman noted as well that the main goal of this fair, from the CPC’s standpoint, is “to connect our students to internship and full-time job opportunities with some terrific companies who are looking for smart, young talent.” She continued, “What better way to network and interact with employers than in one location on your own campus.” Borgman also shared her dream for the Career Fair, which was “to have employers see Fairfield as their first stop for all talent.”
With over 101 employers from both large and small companies alike, it seems that Borgman’s dream may have come true.
All things considered, students seemed to have a very positive experience at this year’s Career Fair. Senior Ben Carlisle visited the Career Fair for his third time and noted some changes: “My freshman year and sophomore year, [the fair] was really tax and business related, and really mainly for business students, and now they are starting to bring in more companies … for other majors.” Carlisle, who is a politics major, also noted that “there was CT Judicial branch and I think there was a few law firms, and the FBI is here too which usually relates to politics.”
Sophomore Nicole Kwasnaza notes that she even saw some improvements at this year’s fair compared to the previous year. “I felt it was a lot more organized this semester, just the way they laid out the tables was a little better and less overwhelming,” she said. Kwasnaza, who said her primary reason for attending the Career Fair was to find an internship for the summer, feels her trip was a success. “I definitely met a lot of people who are really encouraging and gave me a lot of information that I needed.”
Sophomore Aidan Quinn was a first-time attendee of the Career Fair. He said, “I had a good chance of networking with a few companies, got to meet with a few I had applied with prior to, or got to meet face-to-face with.” Quinn felt that he had achieved what he came to the fair for which was “a bit of networking and getting my face a resume out.”
The CPC has worked towards making the fair a better experience for students each year. Borgman states, “I have to give a lot of credit to Julie Tuozzoli, manager of employee relations and alumni career development, for focusing a lot of her time on cultivating employers and encouraging them to attend the fair. She has made a significant impact on our efforts and manages the process.”
Tuozzoli credits the success of the event to her entire departments stating, “The entire Career Planning Staff came together to make this year a huge success. The feedback from employers was highly positive toward our student body. Tuozzoli continued to explain that, “According to [the employers who attended], students were well-prepared, professional and extremely qualified.”
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