Connecting Students with Diverse Employers
In today's competitive job market, it's key for students to connect face-to-face with prospective employers.
That's why ILR is hosting its 2018 ILR Career Fair, bringing together representatives from companies and other organizations to discuss career and internship opportunities with students. This year's event will be held Thursday, October 11, in the Statler Carrier Ballroom.
The 2018 fair will host more than 30 employers from industries including manufacturing, financial services, tech, government and consumer products.
“The career fair is a great touchpoint for students to learn about the employers. In many cases, they are engaging with our alumni or recent graduates about their experiences at the organizations,” said ILR Career Services Director Anu Lyons.
For students, connecting with alumni in their field of interest provides invaluable information as they explore potential career paths.
"What I find helpful about the career fair is the diversity of companies that are represented, from consumer goods companies, to consulting firms and more,” said Meaghan Gee '19. “You are able to get a good sense of what opportunities are available and make valuable connections."
Students can attend the career fair all four years of college, allowing them to establish early relationships with employers, and to seek summer internships.
"Going as a first- and second-year student was a great opportunity to build confidence in talking to employers so that when I attended as a junior, I felt prepared to give my elevator pitch and have a meaningful conversation with different company representatives," Gee said.
Connecting with employers sometimes results in unadvertised opportunities, including Winter InterSession Program placements. WISP, as the program is known, is designed to give students hands-on business experience by working on ILR-related projects for organizations over the winter break.
For Julia Allen ’19, the career fair was the first step in securing her WISP placement. While at the fair, she struck up a conversation with Kevin Carbone ’00, founder of Tech Service Today. They connected over their shared ILR experience and mutual interest in entrepreneurship and organizational behavior.
“For about 15 minutes, I completely forgot I was at a recruiting event. We stayed in touch, and two phone interviews later he offered me a paid winter internship at his Boca Raton office, complete with housing and transportation,” Allen said.
“Without the ILR Career Fair, I never would have made the meaningful face-to-face introduction that spawned a great internship that allowed me to experience organizational behavior beyond the classroom.”
From the employers’ perspective, the career fair represents an opportunity to connect with students whose interests dovetail with the needs of their organizations.
See a list of current employers. Students can find more details through the Fairs App and Handshake.