Each semester, students can be seen walking around campus in suits, ties and dresses in preparation for a particular day that is well-known to Fairfield students. These students are preparing for The Career and Internship Fair.
This year, the Career Fair is happening on Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreational Complex.
Over 90 companies will make an appearance at the Career Fair. A full list of the companies can be found on the OrgSync page for Academic and Career Development. Some of the big name companies that will be present at the Career Fair include BMW, Camuto Group, all of the Big Four companies (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG), Alex and Ani, Indeed.com and Subway.
In addition to these companies, Half Full Brewery is also coming, which is a brewery in Stamford, Conn. According to Associate Director of Career Services Stephanie Gallo, this is the first time a brewery has ever come to the Career Fair.
According to Gallo, it is important to not place too much importance on only applying to big name companies.
“[Students apply] purely because they know the [company’s] name. Students get hooked on companies they know of and have heard of their entire lives, and that’s normal,” said Gallo. “What students don’t know is that there are hundreds of thousands of companies that they may not have heard of that would be great places to work.”
Some of these smaller companies that Gallo mentioned include Smartfish Group, Outside TV and Inspira Group.
“We have some alumni coming from these companies which is great because these alumni can advocate to Fairfield students,” said Gallo.
Sophomore Adam Riestis, who is a double major in Information Systems and Management, added that he wants to speak with both big name and smaller name companies at the Career Fair in order to get a feel for who he wants to work for.
“I think it’s good to have a little bit of both because I think some people want to go into bigger name companies and places like that, but I feel like some people want to know what having a small business is like so I think it’s good to have variety,” said Ashley Cambisaca ‘18.
Gallo spoke on how the industries seeking employees at the Career Fair include finance, engineering, marketing, media and more.
Additionally, 30 of the companies attending the Career Fair are looking for employees with any major, according to Gallo.
Gallo also highlighted the attendance of Save the Children, the Connecticut State Judicial Branch and Bigelow Tea as other notable companies and organizations that will be present at the Career Fair.
According to Gallo, most of the companies represented are located in New York City and Fairfield County.
“That’s where the majority of our students historically have been from,” said Gallo.
“Career fairs pull from markets they exist in,” Gallo continued. “If you go to a career fair at Santa Clara University, you will find jobs mostly in the Bay Area; if you go to one at Fordham, the jobs will mostly be in New York and Westchester County.”
“The Career Fair can be very intimidating for students, but if students dress professionally, do research on their company, bring copies of their résumés and have an answer to the question ‘tell me about yourself,’ they don’t have to be scared,” Gallo added. “It can be intimidating, but if they are prepared, they will feel more comfortable.”
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