Before the doors opened at 11 a.m., they were already waiting outside the Texas Union Ballroom — a line of fresh-faced, professionally dressed students.
They were there for the 2009 Career Expo, and when the doors opened they filed in and began to form lines at company booths, as well as booths for employers like the CIA and the State Department. The career fair, sponsored by Liberal Arts Career Services, was open to all students and included employers from nonprofits, educational groups, service-oriented organizations and local and federal government agencies.
Julia Iacoviello, a psychology senior who has been to a career fair once before, said she benefited from the expo because it allowed her to get her name out into the business world, but was also slightly let down.
“Frankly, I was disappointed at the reception of employers,” Iacoviello said. “I had a few [employers] picked out, but they had pretty long lines.”
She said most of the businesses she went to were looking for management and retail positions, but she was more interested in customer service jobs.
Scott Plowman, manager for recruitment and marketing at the College of Liberal Arts, said the number of employers represented at career fairs nationwide has slowly decreased in recent years because of the economy.
As a result, the companies that did attend are more selective and open for student involvement, he said.
“The ones that are here are here to hire students,” Plowman said, explaining that there are still jobs out there being marketed to students.
Booths for new and returning companies filled the room representing employers from Target to the U.S. Census to Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Although Plowman tried to reach out to Dell, which was represented at the fair in previous years, they were not present.
Dell spokesman David Frink did not explain why the company chose not to attend Wednesday but said they are still recruiting.
“Our absence today does not mean that we are not recruiting anymore from UT,” Frink said. “UT is a tool that we have recruited from and that we will continue to recruit from.”
Enterprise recruitment manager Jamie Gaertner said the company has been recruiting less because of the new proactive trend in students.
“They seem to be postponing graduation dates because of apprehension of the current job market,” Gaertner said.
She said students are applying earlier to get their names out well before their graduation date.
Students came and went throughout the four-hour event. Some looked for jobs and internships, while others came for the experience.
Jean Kwon, a biology and Spanish senior, said this was the first career fair she had attended and it gave her good experience dealing with professional interviews. She went in hopes of landing an internship with the State Department.
Although she isn’t set to graduate until May, she said she realizes the importance of searching early.
The next Liberal Arts Career Expo is planned for Feb. 24.
Attendance falls short at Career Expo
Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 22, 2009
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