Salisbury University Career Services’ annual Fall Job and Internship Fair yielded a record turnout in regards to employer participation and student attendance.
Various companies, ranging from real estate to the US Navy Naval Air Systems Command and a multitude of others, came out to the fair to recruit potential employers.
The event typically takes place once a semester and it is primarily to help students boost their experience in their desired field of work through providing a variety of opportunities for internships and jobs.
Many students showed up in their best professional attire and with resume in hand as they began their hunting.
As for the recruiters, over 120 businesses and government departments came with the anticipation of finding the right candidate for their open positions.
Many came as early as an hour before the start of the fair, to get their booths decked out with their logos, paraphernalia and information about their organization.
The air was filled with excitement and anticipation as the doors opened at noon to let the students in.
Jenny Lauver, a marketing major in the Perdue School of Business, was one of the many students who participated in this semester’s job fair.
“I heard about the job fair in class,” Lauver said. “I also was contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn, letting me know that they would be at the job fair and that I should stop by their table.”
Another student, Jock Simon, also heard about the job fair in class as well as from Career Services, which is the campus resource for students and alumni in need of jobs and internships.
As an interdisciplinary studies major in marketing and conflict analysis, Simon was looking for an internship that would eventually lead to a job.
“I wanted to talk to different companies about internships that led to jobs,” Simon said. “My plans are to move out west after graduation.”
The primary focus for students at this point is to find an internship that will lead to a job.
Simon, in brief, said that he had talked with Medix, a medical equipment sales company that had offices all over the United States, including out west, where he wants to be when he graduates.
As for other students, the job fair was not their first point of contact for companies they wanted to work for, but rather it was used for gathering information about companies they were already in contact with.
Kristen Yingling, a junior and double major in information systems and marketing in the Perdue School of Business, did not meet her match for the first time at the job fair.
“I first met them when they were the business in the atrium at the beginning of the semester,” Yingling said. “Then I saw them at the Meet the Firms job fair.”
Meet the Firms is a specialized job fair, typically centered in on specific majors. The most recent event was specifically for accounting and information systems majors.
“I wanted to see them at the job fair to learn more about their internship program,” Yingling said.
In the end, she was able to get an interview with them the following week.
When asked if they thought the job fair was successful, all three said yes. The job fair provided them with the information and connections they needed to continue their job and internship searches.
“I would definitely recommend it to everyone, including past students,” Simon said. “There was a nice mix of companies there.”
“It was very successful … I received a lot of business cards and was able to get a personal interview,” Lauver said. “I would recommend it to other students.”
By NATHAN VALDES
Staff writer
Featured photo: Student speaks with a Salisbury City Police Department recruiter at this semester's job fair (Emma Reider image).