The Renaissance Coliseum was a sea of suits and booths Wednesday as students and employers gathered for the Spring Job and Internship Fair.
Whether job fair novices or veterans, employers agreed it was a great opportunity to meet intern and employee prospects.
“This is our first time at the job fair, and I’ve talked to a few students,” said Afni, Inc. human resources specialist Barb Hinton. “We’re here because we’ve been hiring aggressively for the past six months, and this is a really good way to reach out.”
Mass Mutual Business Development Coordinator Emily West said Mass Mutual has had a long relationship with Bradley job fairs.
“There are a lot more internship positions available, and we recently hired some marketing interns,” she said. “The important thing is to stand out. You always want to put yourself in a position for recruiters to remember you.”
The job fair is also a useful tool in finding employees who want to live in central Illinois, Northwestern Mutual Financial Director of Recruitment Susan Hoover said.
“Bradley is a good school, and it’s helpful for finding people staying in the area,” she said. “I’ve been here many times, and this year we’re looking for more students.”
Campus Representative for Walt Disney Jason Windish said this was his second time recruiting at Bradley.
“We opened up Bradley to Disney internships, and we want our boss to come down and speak as well,” he said. “We’re technically the entertainment and hospitality industries, but it’s open to any major. I’ve talked to students of all different majors today, from engineering and education to journalism.”
Windish said students seeking jobs or internships should speak honestly with recruiters.
“We want to hear what you think, not what you think we want to think,” he said. “We’re looking for consistency.”
Students said they think the Job and Internship Fair is key to students’ job searches.
“I’m looking for a summer or fall internship, and it [went] well,” said junior industrial engineering major Amanda Wallace. “The employers here are extremely direct and really informative, and it’s nice to see freshmen here, too. The key part is going through the employers’ web site and reading up on it so you have something to talk to them about.”
Senior management and administration major Bilaluddin Mohammed said students don’t give the job fair a fair chance.
“Just from talking to other students, this is much better than it was last year. Some students assume it’s just a waste of time, but there has been a really good development of setting,” he said. “Props to the [Smith] Career Center for enlightening students.”
Click on the photo to see pictures from the Job and Internship Fair.
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All photos by Adam Moulton
