On Feb. 27, the University Memorial Center ballroom was packed with people at the Career Services spring fair. Ninety-nine employers, including companies such as Target, Verizon and Microsoft, had set up booths and were mingling with CU grads with a wide variety of majors. The businesses were looking for different qualities in the group of students, and most found qualified future employees.
“We are looking specifically for business students to fill our management training programs,” says Jill Elwood, a representative from First Bank. “So far we’ve been very successful.”
The experience also was valuable for the more than 2,000 students and alums who attended the event.
“I’m here to network and meet people,” says Leigh Mehlman (Mgmt’10). “I’m learning about how to interact with employers and what employers are looking for.”
Other students were looking for internships and hoping to make connections to find employment after graduation.
“I’m looking for an internship for this summer,” says Jessica Cateora (Biochem’11). “This is my first career fair, so I’m just hoping to interact with the recruiters.”
According to Michael Deragisch (MComm’78), assistant director for employer relations at CU Career Services, the employers were very impressed with the CU students’ level of preparation.
“We’ve been doing fairs for 20 years, and this is the first fair I can remember where no employers packed up and left early,” Deragisch says. “They stayed until the very end,”
Ten percent of the fair’s attendance was comprised of CU graduates returning to campus with hope of finding a job in today’s poor economy.
“I’m in architecture and the economy has slowed down in our field, so I’m here looking for something architecture-related to transfer into,” Teena Taylor (EnvDes’00) says.
Despite the poor economy, the fair seemed to reassure many that jobs are in fact attainable in today’s society.
“It was a very encouraging career fair,” Deragisch says. “It clearly shows that companies are hiring again and certainly hiring college students.”
