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Students, Recruiters Find Value in Career Fair

“The real prize, though, was the experience she gained meeting with recruiters so early in her academic career,” said Brenda McCarthy, director of career and internship development for the college’s Office of Undergraduate Programs. The career fair was held Feb. 2 at NC State’s McKimmon Center.

“We encourage students to start working on their internship and job searches early in their academic programs, to take advantage of every opportunity to meet with recruiters, to learn about the opportunities that are available, and to practice presenting their professional potential both on their resumes and in person,” McCarthy said.

Briggs had plenty of opportunities to learn what recruiters are looking for at this year’s career fair, as more than 80 employers were in attendance. The career fair was hosted by the NC State College of Management in collaboration with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS), and was open to all students at NC State University, although the primary audience was undergraduate students.

The event drew employers from a number of industries, including Fidelity Investments, Merck & Co., Apex Systems, Coyote Logistics, Geico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, RBC Bank, The Select Group, Target, Walgreens, and the Internal Revenue Service. Representatives from Inroads, a national program that helps place talented minority youth in business and industry internship positions, were also present to discuss their program with students.

Feedback from students attending the career fair, gathered via a written survey, was generally positive, with some saying that even if they did not find specifically what they were looking for, they appreciated the networking opportunities.

The NC State College of Management offers workshops to help students prepare for career fairs and other events where they will be interfacing with individuals who can further them in their careers. About one-third of the students completing the survey, which included students from across the NC State campus, attended the workshops.

Recruiters also completed a survey, rating the quality of the resumes they had received, the level of students’ professionalism, service they received from the event staff, and their overall experience. Of the employers completing the survey, the majority gave high ratings in all areas.

Of the recruiters participating in the career fair, 70 offered full time positions, and over 100 were recruiting for internships, co-ops or part-time positions.

Photo cutline: Lindsey Briggs [center in photo above] received her Career Fair drawing prize from Brenda McCarthy [right], director of career and internship development and Janet Rakes, career coach.