Last Wednesday, Oct. 24, signs with colorful balloons around campus advertised what turned out to be one of the largest Fall Career and Internship Fairs to date.
Compared to the typical 60 or so businesses in attendance, this year hosted 91 different businesses, including Northwestern Mutual-Denver, Camping World and Good Sam, Yelp Inc. and Dish Network.
Held in the Gates Field House at the Ritchie Center, the career and internship fair is one of three annual events for students and alums looking for employment opportunities and internships around the state.
Designed to inform students and alums about which businesses were at the event, the event program guide listed openings for specific positions with each company.
“I think this year’s event shows how the economy is turning around,” said Tina Stack-Oldweiler, Employer Relations Manager and Office Administrator at Student Life Career Center.
Stack-Oldweiler’s office has teamed up with several other offices across campus such as Suitts Career Management Center in the Daniels College of Business and with schools such as the Josef Korbel School of International Studies to put on the event.
“We believe we have something for everyone and we are trying to target all majors,” said Stack-Oldweiler. “The event is host to a broad range of diverse employment opportunities.”
According to Stack-Oldweiler, this was achieved through carefully capping the number of organizations and businesses of the same variety.
“We didn’t want an overload of insurance [companies], or non-profits, but we wanted a balance,” said Stack-Oldweiler.
Companies at the event ranged from insurance corporations such as Cigna and Amica, to finance businesses like Visa Card. There were also nonprofit organizations such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America as well as recognizable Colorado radio stations such as Mix 100.
Jiwei Gu, a senior majoring in finance and International business from China, was hoping to find a position for after graduation in June.
“I wanted to see if I could get an interview with firms that have positions open in either finance or international business, or for companies that are hoping to grow in these areas,” said Gu.
Many seniors and graduate students came into the setting with an open mind, hoping to find new opportunities that may not be their exact dream job but that would provide employment.
“I know my area [research and development in wind energy] is a small field and it might not be something I can do right after I graduate, so I wanted to come to the fair and see what other engineering opportunities existed,” said senior Emily Wetmore, a major in electrical engineering from Windermere, Fla.
The fair also provided resume review stations and freebies for attendees such as candy, water bottles and pens.
There are two more career and internship fairs planned for this academic year, each one with a different emphasis.
The winter fair, scheduled for Feb. 20, 2013, will highlight industry positions while the spring fair, planned for Apr. 17, 2013, will focus on non-profit organizations and government positions.
For students who missed out on the fair, there are several online resources including the Career Services website which includes a job and internship database, UCAN internship database, pioneer career network, a place to post your resume, campus recruiting info, employer contacts database and employer events info.
Also students are encouraged to follow Career services on Facebook and Twitter for job and internship posts, articles and event reminders.
