February 27, 2003 Feature
Story
Career
Fair Brings Employment Opportunities to Students
 Students
will mix, mingle and network Wednesday, March 5, at the Utah
State Career Fair when 147 companies from around the state,
region and country visit the campus to find future interns and
permanent employees.
The free event is open to students, alumni and community members
and will be held in the Taggart Student Center from 9 a.m.-3
p.m. Companies attending include America Online, Beneficial
Life, Boeing, Icon Health & Fitness, Hewlett Packard, IBM,
Lakeview Hospital, Peace Corps, U.S. Department of State, FBI,
Walt Disney and many more.
Melissa Scheaffer, assistant director of Career Services for
the university, is organizing the event. She said that because
the economy is in a slump, many students aren't looking for
jobs, assuming the job market has nothing to offer. Instead,
Scheaffer said they should be intensifying their job search.
"Career fairs are especially important in an unsteady economy,"
said Scheaffer. "The opportunity for students to make those
one-on-one networking contacts at the fair is absolutely essential."
Scheaffer pointed out that although nationwide career fair attendance
has decreased by 50 percent, Utah State's has only gone down
12 percent, which she said reflects positively on the university.
"I think employers know the quality of our students,"
Scheaffer said. "They are committed to being here on campus
to let people know what's going on in their company and what
opportunities are available."
 Scheaffer
said that a key reason for employer attendance is to build their
pool of job applicants. Even though they may not have a position
open today, one to three months down the road that may change.
And for many Utah State students, like Natalie Barfuss, the
situation does change. Barfuss hadn't even heard of the General
Services Administration before last spring's career fair when
she handed the company representative a resume. Two months later
she was notified of an opening and had a job waiting for her
when she graduated in July.
"Go prepared to these career fairs," Barfuss said.
"Take your resumes with you, dress up and research the
companies you're most interested in ahead of time."
Scheaffer agreed that being prepared is the key to success at
the career fair. She warned students not to wander around aimlessly,
and even suggested that they have a 30-second "commercial"
about themselves ready to present.
 Although
simply attending the fair helps students find internships and
permanent employment, Scheaffer said that students can get the
most out of the career fair by volunteering to be a student
host. Student hosts serve as contacts for company representatives,
providing service for them throughout the day of the fair. Scheaffer
said that although an employer may talk to 500 students during
the career fair, the student host is the one person who really
makes an impression with them.
"Those student hosts are remembered long after the day
of the career fair," said Scheaffer.
Scheaffer said that hosting is an invaluable resource for students
because building networking relationships is the key to obtaining
employment. Studies continue to show that 70 percent of people
who obtain employment do it through networking.
"This is a great place for students to jump-start their
career search," said Scheaffer. "They make one-on-one
personal contact with employers, which makes a huge difference
when applying for a job."
Utah State was the first university in Utah to offer a career
fair, according to Scheaffer, and was also the first school
to implement a student host component into the fair. Students
can sign up to host or review the list of participating organizations
at www.usu.edu/career
or by calling Career Services at (435) 797-7777. Although most
student host positions have been filled, there are still a few
spots left.
Contact: Melissa Scheaffer, (435) 797-1755
Writer: Miaken Christensen, (435) 797-1350
utah
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