Career Fairs & Internships
Fall and spring semester career and internship fairs serve as a springboard to planning for the future. Students who have not yet secured a job or internship may start considering their options. For students who are graduating in the fall or spring that have not secured a job, this is an opportunity to meet recruiters and interact in person before a full formal interview. Make sure your student is familiar with the date of their university’s career fair or expo. You may check our calendar page for those dates or read about our interns’ experiences attending their school’s career fair or internship fair, suggestions on what to wear, and where to rent professional clothes if that is a resource they will need. To make it simple, our interns include helpful links in their blogs.
Whether your student is a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, there are many advantages to attending these fairs. Introduce them to career and internship opportunities – We would not expect that freshman and sophomores know what type of career they see in their future but by attending a career fair, they get to explore career opportunities. Perhaps just one conversation with an employer may pique their interest and change the course of their future degree. Practice interviewing and professional skills. From dressing professionally to preparing their resumes, from selling themselves to landing an interview for an internship or job, this is a great opportunity to get real-world experience and have access to so many career services in one location. And should they struggle with small talk at one recruiting table, they can learn and adjust quickly before getting to the next recruiting table.
Access to Employers. Employers participate in these fairs because they are looking to hire and find talent from a large pool of candidates. Attending job and internship fairs is a cost-effective way to have contact with many students in a short period of time. Many of these employers are familiar with the recruiting opportunities job and internship fairs offer and the caliber of students that attend. They already have established relationships with the universities and they often send former students, who are now employees, to the fairs. It presents a great networking opportunity for both student and employer alike.
If your student has not secured an internship for the summer when they start the Spring semester, keep in mind that some students majoring in Advertising, Business Marketing, Communications, and PR for example, often don’t land an internship until March or even as late as April and May. If they land an internship out of state, it could present a “where will they live” predicament. Some of the more sought-after summer housing places in cities such as New York City take deposits as early as December. Are you ready to put down a non-refundable deposit before your student lands an internship in that city? We were not so we waited and got locked out of a dorm she wanted to live in. We did find her another dorm in the city and found there were plenty of options including subletting an apartment. We even have a blog on out-of-state recommended places to live should your student land an internship.
For school-specific information, check out each university.
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