Career Fair will be largest in Pitt history

The Petersen Events Center will host a team unlike any other next Wednesday. A team of… The Petersen Events Center will host a team unlike any other next Wednesday. A team of professional recruiters from 231 companies, including American Eagle, PNC Financial and Alcoa, will hit the floor at Pitt’s annual Fall Job Fair on Oct. 1 from noon to 6:00 p.m. The Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistant and the Division of Student Affairs have organized the event. Never before have so many companies from across the country gathered at the job fair. Last fall, about 140 companies sent recruiters to the job fair. ‘The word is getting out about the caliber of Pitt students,’ said Shawn Ahearn, director of communications for the Division of Student Affairs at Pitt. ‘ Recruiters will come from as far as Alaska and Hawaii to represent every state in the United States at the fair. Companies from Pennsylvania will send the most representatives, with 161 companies participating. The Office of Student Affairs expects about 3,000 students from all years and majors to attend. ‘I cannot say it strongly enough that this will be time well-spent,’ said Ahearn. In previous years, the event took place in the William Pitt Union over the course of two days. This year, however, the event will last one day only and will take place at the Petersen Events Center in order to accommodate the large number of employers. ‘The Petersen will provide a more professional atmosphere and more room to conduct interviews,’ said Ahearn. Companies seeking applicants from all majors will attend this year. In past years, an overwhelming number of companies targeted students from engineering fields, said special events coordinator Monica Varela. Students should have different expectations depending on their place in their college career. ‘If you are a senior, you should not miss this event,’ said Ahearn. The job fair is the beginning of the interviewing process, which could last up to six months, according to Barb Juliussen, associate director of the Office of Career Development. Seniors should prepare as if they were preparing for an interview. ‘Employers are coming to fill positions,’ said Ahearn. ‘They would not be coming if they were not interested in hiring Pitt students.’ The Career Development Office, located on the second floor of the WPU, has added services so that students can prepare for the job fair. ‘We don’t want our students to look like it is their first time at a career fair,’ said Ahearn. Advisers have extended their walk-in hours to all hours of the workday until next Tuesday. Students may visit the office to ask questions concerning the job fair, to get help preparing for the event and to have a specialist critique their resumes. Career Development has also scheduled 30-minute Career Clinics, which give students advice on how to make the most of the job fair. Juliussen suggests that students study the directory of companies attending, which students can find online, and identify the companies of the most interest to them. Students should bring to the fair a resume and cover letter in a neat portfolio for each of the companies selected. Seniors seeking jobs and juniors looking for internships should dress in business attire. Juliussen advises students to wear conservative suits. Students interested in meeting recruiters from a few companies should expect to stay at the event for one to two hours and to talk to recruiters from each company for a maximum of five minutes. ‘The nature of the event is a meet and greet,’ said Juliussen. She also advises that students start with the companies in which they have the least interest. ‘It helps to work through the butterflies and the jitters,’ she said. Freshman and sophomore students can attend the event ‘to get an idea of the event.’ They are asked to come between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Employers are aware that they may attend. ‘Corporations want students to know about them before they approach them for jobs,’ said Kathy Humphrey, vice provost and dean of students, in a news release. ‘I just can’t emphasize enough how important it is to make connections and gain experience interacting with professional people who are in positions to hire.’