UCF students and alumni had the chance to start their job-seeking process at the Spring 2012 Career Expo. It was an opportunity for attendees to closely discuss career opportunities with a wide variety of companies.
The event was hosted by UCF Career Services, and took place in the Arena from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This semester 190 employers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Siemens AG, The Coca-Cola Company, and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. attended the career fair. The event was restricted so only UCF students and alumni could meet recruiters, learn about different corporations, know what companies seek in prospective employees, and gain interview experience.
Each employer was set at a table. Companies interested specifically in engineering recruits were located on the second floor of the Arena, while companies interested in accounting and all other majors were set on the first floor.
At the entrance to the event, participants were handed out list of all the employers and their corresponding table number, and a diagram that showed how tables were arranged. Attendees could then easily find the companies they were interested in networking with, give them their resume, and introduce themselves.
Lynn Hansen, executive director of Career Services, said that they expected about 1,500 people to attend the fair, and that this year they offered almost twice as many companies as they have in the past.
To ensure a big turnout, they promoted the event through the website and the Facebook page, and by emails and flyers. They also notified faculty members so they would encourage their students to participate.
Michelle Witt, a senior marketing major, said one of her professors offered a workshop to prepare students, providing them with helpful recommendations about what to wear and how to present themselves to employers.
"You have to learn to sell yourself to employers," she said. "I have to call back to a few places, but I definitely think I will get a few interviews out of this."
Through its website, Career Services also offered tips for students planning to attend the event.
"Students that come to the career fair need to be prepared to look good, have their resumes ready, and [to] network", said Hansen, who also mentioned that students should present themselves in their "best light" by reflecting their most desirable characteristics in order to be considered strong candidates.
Attendees were required to wear professional attire, and were recommended to research the companies they were interested in, focus their job search, update their resume, and practice a one-minute script about themselves.
To prepare for the event, Michael Roller visited Career Services' website. He knew what employers he could expect to find, did background research on them, and tailored his resume to the specific companies he was interested in.
The UCF alumnus, who has attended previous career fairs, commented that the event has been getting "bigger and better," with a wider variety of companies offering professional opportunities.
Some companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, SunTrust Bank, and Insight Global, Inc. have scheduled dates throughout February, in which they will hold on-campus interviews with selected applicants they met at the Career Expo. Other employers will be hosting information sessions on campus. The dates and locations of these sessions can be found at www.career.ucf.edu.
Students who could not attend this career fair will have the opportunity to meet other employers at the Statewide Job Fair that Career Services is planning to host in May for students and alumni from Florida's ten state universities
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