Career Fair Brings Employment Opportunities To Students

Students will mix, mingle and network Wednesday, March 5, at the Utah State Career Fair when 147 companies from around the state, region and country visit the campus to find future interns and permanent employees.


The free event is open to students, alumni and community members and will be held in the Taggart Student Center from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Companies attending include America Online, Beneficial Life, Boeing, Icon Health & Fitness, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lakeview Hospital, Peace Corps, U.S. Department of State, FBI, Walt Disney and many more.

Melissa Scheaffer, assistant director of Career Services for the university, is organizing the event. She said that because the economy is in a slump, many students aren't looking for jobs, assuming the job market has nothing to offer. Instead, Scheaffer said they should be intensifying their job search.

"Career fairs are especially important in an unsteady economy," said Scheaffer. "The opportunity for students to make those one-on-one networking contacts at the fair is absolutely essential."

Scheaffer pointed out that although nationwide career fair attendance has decreased by 50 percent, Utah State's has only gone down 12 percent, which she said reflects positively on the university.

"I think employers know the quality of our students," Scheaffer said. "They are committed to being here on campus to let people know what's going on in their company and what opportunities are available."

Scheaffer said that a key reason for employer attendance is to build their pool of job applicants. Even though they may not have a position open today, one to three months down the road that may change.

And for many Utah State students, like Natalie Barfuss, the situation does change. Barfuss hadn't even heard of the General Services Administration before last spring's career fair when she handed the company representative a resume. Two months later she was notified of an opening and had a job waiting for her when she graduated in July.

"Go prepared to these career fairs," Barfuss said. "Take your resumes with you, dress up and research the companies you're most interested in ahead of time."

Scheaffer agreed that being prepared is the key to success at the career fair. She warned students not to wander around aimlessly, and even suggested that they have a 30-second "commercial" about themselves ready to present.

Although simply attending the fair helps students find internships and permanent employment, Scheaffer said that students can get the most out of the career fair by volunteering to be a student host. Student hosts serve as contacts for company representatives, providing service for them throughout the day of the fair. Scheaffer said that although an employer may talk to 500 students during the career fair, the student host is the one person who really makes an impression with them.

"Those student hosts are remembered long after the day of the career fair," said Scheaffer.

Scheaffer said that hosting is an invaluable resource for students because building networking relationships is the key to obtaining employment. Studies continue to show that 70 percent of people who obtain employment do it through networking.

"This is a great place for students to jump-start their career search," said Scheaffer. "They make one-on-one personal contact with employers, which makes a huge difference when applying for a job."

Utah State was the first university in Utah to offer a career fair, according to Scheaffer, and was also the first school to implement a student host component into the fair. Students can sign up to host or review the list of participating organizations at www.usu.edu/career or by calling Career Services at (435) 797-7777. Although most student host positions have been filled, there are still a few spots left.

Contact: Melissa Scheaffer, (435) 797-1755
Writer: Miaken Christensen, (435) 797-1350