Career Fairs Aren't Just For Seniors Anymore!

By Don Cornwell

Assistant Director

Emory University

 

Traditionally, college career fairs provide employers with an avenue to market their respective organizations and to advertise the variety of career opportunities available to graduating seniors. However, career fairs aren't just for graduating students; these events are an excellent place for all students to work on their personal career development and to evaluate their career options. In fact, students can't find a better opportunity to interact with “people in the know” regarding industry information, nature of the work, types of positions and future hiring needs.

Sophomores and juniors benefit from attending career fairs as many of the participating organizations will not only be looking for the current graduating seniors, but will also be scouting out future graduates to begin cultivating relationships. Often these organizations will have part-time, internship or volunteer opportunities available for students to begin gaining valuable career related experience.

For first year students, who are usually just beginning the career exploration process, attending a career fair can actually be a great place to start discovering the multitude of career options the world of work has to offer. Understanding the combination of education, skills and experience for an occupation is a valuable part of the career development process. Asking questions about the types of academic preparation and/or skill sets hiring employers are looking for in candidates can help lay the foundation for becoming an attractive and successful candidate in the future.

By attending career fairs early and often in their academic career, students not only build their knowledge base but also begin developing research, communication and networking skills. These are critical skills which students will continue to use the rest of their working lives, long after their academic career is over.

Faculty are also always welcome to stop by the career fair and chat with recruiters. They often find it to be a very rewarding experience, one that goes a long way in helping to foster meaningful relationships with recruiting organizations across a wide variety of industries. Recruiters also welcome the opportunity to share their perspective and learn more about a school or department's curricula. Often partnerships are created to enhance learning opportunities for students; for example, professors may invite guest lectures into the classroom to connect students with “real world” concepts, trends and experiences.

Therefore, whether you are a first year student, a tenured faculty or somewhere in between, consider this an invitation to come out, participate and make the most out of the career fair experience!

Don Cornwell is an Assistant Director at The Career Center of Emory University in Atlanta, GA. There, he has been working as Internship Coordinator and Career Consultant since 1998. Mr. Cornwell served as Interim Assistant Director for Corporate Relations for the University during the 1999-2000 academic year. As Tech Team Leader for the Emory Career Center, he maintains and edits the Career Paradise web site and the Career Center's Learnlink Intranet conference. His interest and experience in technology allowed him to be selected as a Beta Tester for the National Association of Colleges and Employers web site, http://www.naceweb.org . Mr. Cornwell's opinions have been published in a variety of both print and on line publications including; The Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Business Chronicle, CareerWatch and CareerBuilder.com. His latest article ‘So, you want to do an internship...' appeared on CampusCareerCenter.com. He earned a Masters of Education in Student Personnel Services with a concentration in counseling from The University of South Carolina (1997) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Appalachian State University (1990).

 

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