Students put on their sharpest outfits and gave their best elevator pitches this past Tuesday in hopes of landing jobs and internships.
The spring in-person job fair was held in the Renaissance Coliseum on Feb. 21. It was one of two job fairs this semester, as a virtual fair was also held on Feb. 15. David Schwartz, assistant director of the Springer Center for Internships, said that 130 employers attended the in-person job fair, while the virtual fair had an estimated 25-30 employers who only attended online.
The Smith Career Center table was one of the first tables that students saw when they walked into the venue. Schwartz said their table was a great place to break the ice with any nerves or uncertainty that students had.
“The best plan is to build a plan,” Schwartz said. “Before you come to the fair … utilize our systems [and] our platforms and do research to see who is gonna be here or even just to know what [employers are] looking for.”
Jane Kapinos, a campus recruiter for Northwestern Mutual from the Chicago area, was looking for students interested in a financial representative internship with possible full-time opportunities. They were mostly interested in students originally from Chicago wanting a summer internship in the city.
“It’s really awesome when our students can come home for the summer and work in the Chicagoland area, but when they’re still at school they can still work with us but have access to the Peoria area as well,” Kapinos said.
Casandra Albino is a junior industrial engineering major who searched for a summer internship at the fair, attended resume workshops ahead of time to prepare. She said that she enjoyed seeing all the opportunities possible for her.
“For example, one had clean manufacturing; that’s really interesting to me,” Albino said. “It’s nice to see each internship had something different.”
Schwartz said that ahead of the fair, students had been getting emails from the Smith Career Center on how to be prepared.
“Really, the preparations started before students returned to campus for winter break,” Schwartz said. “It started with, ‘Here’s some tips for the virtual fair,’ ‘Here’s some tips for your resume.’ We try to start broad and help students that maybe have no idea where to start.”
Students can get help with their resumes, elevator pitches and understanding what career options they might have available. Even after finding available jobs, Schwartz said that they help students with the processes of interviews, decisions and offers.
Employers themselves are aware that students might not know where to start with their career, but gaining as much experience as possible is Kapinos’ advice.
“I would say [to] put yourself out there,” Kapinos said. “Internships are the best way to see what you want to do with your life. You pick a major and go, ‘What do I want to do with it?’”
If students don’t see an immediate career that they can apply to, Schwartz said Bradley students can still use this opportunity for the future.
“Even if they don’t want you right now because you’re not a senior, go and talk with that company so you can build that relationship,” Schwartz said.
