In between hectic extracurricular schedules and maintaining a social life, students sometimes forget the true purpose of college: to get a degree that leads to a job.
The Smith Career Center hosted its annual Spring Job & Internship Fair Feb. 19, where students brought out their résumés and best attire to woo potential employers.
Senior mechanical engineering major Aaron Blanco does not currently have a job lined up but said he went into the job fair with ideas of who he wanted to visit and the field he was interested in.
“I found multiple people that I wanted to go talk to today,” Blanco said. “When I went in, it was very easily organized, and I found exactly what I was looking for in the companies.”
Blanco said he was pleased with the resources that were available at the fair and learned from attending the job fair that he was searching for smaller automotive companies. As a result, he said he is more interested in being involved with innovative projects and companies with new designs.
Similar to Blanco, senior advertising major Sydney Yeazel said she had a positive experience, despite initially being skeptical about going and making a last minute decision to attend. However, Yeazel was exploring her options as she already has one job offer on the table.
“I walked around and was able to talk to so many interesting people,” Yeazel said. [They were] not necessarily something that I could see myself working, for but there were so many opportunities, and it was a great experience. I made a lot of connections.”
Yeazel said her job offer came from the company she interned with over the summer but it does not hurt to explore her options before making a final decision.
“I look for growth,” Yeazel said. “I want to be a leader, so I look for opportunity to advance and something that could potentially roll over to a full-time [position] that can be put on my resume for future employment.”
Senior bio-medical engineering major Kelsey Devine is already in the desired senior position as she has already accepted a job offer.
Devine is currently a simulation engineer intern, assisting in constructing simulation devices for medical professionals to practice with.
While this year’s graduating class is preparing to enter the real world following spring graduation May 16, last year’s graduating class boasts a 93 percent employment rate with a 95 percent knowledge rate according to the 2013-2014 First Destination Study completed by the Smith Career Center.
To read the complete report, visit the Smith Career Center page on the Bradley website.
