Are Career Fairs the Way to Go?
For millions of college students around the country, the biggest question asked when graduation rolls around is: “How do I find a real job in my field?”
It’s the most stressful thing that most students and graduates think about, mainly because there isn’t much of a road map for it. But career fairs can be the one helpful thing that they have to lean on.
On a personal note, I’m a huge fan of career fairs. As a student at Northern Essex Community College back in 2014, I got two internships (one at WEEI-FM and one at the Lowell Sun) from two separate career fairs during the course of the year. I tend to be a good interviewee, so the rapid-fire style of moving around to the different booths suits me well. I’ve found that as long as you have a decent resume and make a good first impression, you should be hitting every career fair you can.
With that thought in mind, I decided to check out the Salem State University career fair on Friday, March 3 in the Gassett Fitness Center to see how other students were going about their job hunting, and how they felt about the whole process.
“This is the first career fair I’ve ever been to, so I’m not really sure what to expect,” said sophomore James Hill as he was preparing to walk into the gym. “I know there’s a ton of different kinds of companies here and I still have a while until I graduate, but hopefully I can score an internship or something like that.”
Hill was certainly right about the wide range of companies that were there on Friday, with 137 tables set up all around the gym. Booths ranged from the Army National Guard to the Boston Ballet to Gatehouse Media/Wicked Local Media to TD Bank, with students rushing back and forth from table to table with resume in hand. For those who got a little tired from all the rushing around, the Viking Prep Lounge was set up with snacks and drinks for a quick recharge.
But with all of this chaos, the real question is whether or not career fairs actually work. Lauren Hubacheck, the Assistant Dean of Student Success and Transition at Salem State, has spent plenty of time around students and prospective employees over the years.
“Obviously I’m a little biased, as I’ve seen all the great things that career fairs can do for students,” said Hubacheck. “But it’s also not a guaranteed job finder. I think it’s the best possible opportunity students can get to find out what their options are and what they need to do to get where they want to go.”
So really, what it all comes down to is that you need to check out the career fair atmosphere for yourself. At the very least, you’ll get to hear great pitches from a dizzying array of prospective employers for a few hours.
