Finding connections among employers to secure a future job is an important step for college students as they achieve independence. This is why the University of Idaho Career Center is hosting the annual Job, Internship and Grad School Fair from 2-6 p.m. Monday at the Student Recreation Center.
Andrew Deskins | Argonaut
Students prepare for the 2013 Job, Internship and Grad School Fair with a workshop at the Idaho Commons. The career fair is from 2-6 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Student Recreation Center.
Many employers will be present at the fair, including national and international employers and some local employers. Boeing, Amazon, the Microsoft Corporation and the UI College of Law are just a few who will attend the fair.
Director for Academic Success and Access Programs Suzi Billington said the purpose of the fair was to make the search for work and task of networking much easier for students entering the job market.
“We’re having, I think it (is) over 80 employers on campus, and rather than having students go out individually and trying to contact all of these employers themselves, we are trying to make it more convenient,” Billington said. “So students can drop by the rec center, spend a few minutes talking to each of these employers — the employers that are of interest to them — and get that face-to-face time, get there and their questions answered, get their resume in front of the recruiter.”
Billington said networking is essential to getting a job or internship.
“When you are in a job or internship search, the most effective strategy to getting a job or an internship is that networking piece, the getting in front, the face time with employers, getting them to know who you are and for you to get to know a little bit more about the company,” Billington said. “That face-to-face interaction is one of the most effective ways for students to actually get internships and jobs.”
Billington said the first thing students will do at the fair is fill out a questionnaire to give to employers. This questionnaire helps determine if UI is a viable place for employers looking to hire students. After the questionnaire, students will be given maps of the area and a listing of the attending employers and their locations, Billington said.
Billington stressed the importance of being professional in the fair.
“Hopefully, students will realize this is a professional networking event, and so they should be dressed up. We’re hoping that they don’t go through being dressed up as they would going to the rec center for classes and exercising,” Billington said. “One of the ways to really stand out is to come prepared and look the part of a professional, and that is including attire, coming prepared with your resume, having your resume really sharp and have it reviewed by one of the career advisers ahead of time so that it’s strong.”
Career Adviser Matt Vaartstra said the best thing for students going to the fair is to remain confident.
“I guess my biggest piece of advice is be confident,” Vaartstra said. “(The employers are) there to look for you as much as you’re there looking for jobs and internships. And so, be confident in the skills and abilities you bring to the table because you’ve had great experiences here as a student and maybe even outside of that in your internship experiences or in your other projects or volunteer activities that you do. And you have these skills and abilities that you can bring to the table for these employers. Be confident in those experiences that you’ve had and be able to just know your story and talk openly with the recruiters.”
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]