Technical students flock to career fair

The unemployment rate dropped slightly last month, and students seemed to take… The unemployment rate dropped slightly last month, and students seemed to take notice.

Hundreds of them — dressed in all manner of business wear — showed up yesterday for the Spring Career Fair in the William Pitt Union. The first day of the fair was dedicated to students with technical majors such as engineering, computer and information sciences.

Today, the Office of Student Employment & Placement Assistance will host the second day of the fair, targeted at students with nontechnical majors such as business and health science. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., also in the William Pitt Union.

Barbara Juliussen, associate director of Pitt’s Career Development Office, said many students attend the career fair because it’s a difficult time in the economy. She added that company attendance has not dwindled with the job market.

Organizers stressed that jobs are not the only thing up for grabs during the fair. Juliussen said many sophomores and juniors come looking for internships.

Pitt junior Timothy Brady, an industrial engineering major, said he was looking for an internship to build up his resume for when he starts looking for a full-time job. He advised students who plan to attend the career fair to come early so they don’t have to wait in line.

More than 75 different booths were set up in the Union Ballroom. Though some booths only had one or two people waiting in line, others had a line that extended back 10 students.

Pitt senior Brian LeHew, a mechanical engineering major, plans to graduate this spring and is looking for any job in his field of study. The first-time attendee said he was surprised by the number of companies that attended.

Well aware of the importance of first impressions during the job search, LeHew dressed professionally in a suit and tie, and he prepared an opening line for introducing himself.

He also printed dozens of resumés, which came in handy when he conversed with 15 recruiters.

Juliussen said SEPA develops relationships with employers in an effort to get them to come back each year. She said that some companies will even conduct follow-up interviews with students on Pitt’s campus.

“Employers want to be here and maintain their visibility, even if they aren’t offering jobs,” Juliussen said. “So when [the economy] turns around, people will know who they are.”

Nikki Kettenacker, a recruiter for M.C. Dean, an electrical contracting company based in Washington, D.C., said the company comes to the career fair because it’s a good way to keep up a profile with students. She said M.C. Dean was offering full-time internships and co-ops.

“We look for people with certain classes and backgrounds, such as electrical engineering and power,” Kettenacker said.

RTI International Metals also came to the spring career fair, after a successful experience at the career fair in the fall. Recruiter Jamie Farmer said the company hired one Pitt student following the fall fair.

This time around, RTI is looking for interns who are involved in material science, a field dedicated to the study of the use of materials like metal, glass and plastic, and she prefers that they have past internships.

Students received e-mail reminders of the event and a text message if they subscribed to the notification subscription service, a first-time use for the career fair.