The Stevens Career Center has shed more light on the challenges of running last month’s campus-wide Career Fair, as well as the University’s aspirations for making future fairs run smoothly and facilitating more interactions between students and employers. This information was obtained via an email interview by The Stute with Cherena Walker, Executive Director of the Stevens Career Center.
Many Career Fair attendees were frustrated by the multi-hour-long lines for the event’s venues, with many students who couldn’t attend in the morning due to classes ultimately not being admitted by closing time. Since each employer was stationed at only one of the two venues, attendees likely would have had to wait in both lines to interact with all the employers on their lists. The Stute asked about venue selection and employer allocation, and whether problems were due to incorrect assumptions about attendance numbers and space limitations.
“The challenges to this year’s Career Fair were generally due to space limitations, increased student enrollment, and the presence of unregistered individuals both in line, and in some cases, at the Career Fair through the sharing of Stevens ID cards,” Walker wrote. As outlined in several pre-Career Fair emails, attendees were supposed to enroll for the fair in advance through the Handshake platform.
While high student demand and a limited selection of possible venues across campus are not new challenges, she explained, the scale of the demand as well as the low rate of proper enrollment via Handshake led to difficulties with crowd management. “By design, the registration process limits the number of employers and students consistent with our capacity to accommodate demand,” Walker wrote. She noted that the chosen venues were the largest available on campus and that employer allocation was necessary.
Beyond further encouraging and enforcing proper registration, Walker noted that the Career Center is examining ways to alleviate the problem of demand outstripping the availability of space on campus. “Career Center staff are considering in-person fall fairs, with spring fairs held virtually on Handshake,” she wrote, which would help address the lack of space while also accommodating employers and students who prefer to engage via video calls, virtual conferences, and/or webinars.
She also highlighted the Career Center’s myriad initiatives that can serve as alternatives to large-scale career fairs if students wish to meet with recruiters and learn about employers. “[S]tudents are encouraged to take advantage of […] opportunities such as career chats, information sessions, interview days, alumni panels, and more.”
According to the Stevens webpage for recruiting events, additional offered opportunities include Alumni and Employer-in-Residence programs, which allow students to meet one-on-one with an industry veteran alumnus or employer, respectively, for the purpose of building a connection or getting recruited. The site also describes opportunities like employer site visits and “Industry Insights” presentations. “These events allow students to learn about companies, available jobs and internships, and provide opportunities to network with recruiters, 80% of whom are Stevens alumni,” Walker wrote.
In light of students’ frustration with the recent Career Fair, Walker announced that a new service, the Career Fair Resume Book, would be offered, allowing students to add their resumes to a collection that would be sent to interested employers. When asked if this would become a regular service for Stevens students or Career Fair attendees, Walker said that the Career Center staff had not yet determined “whether a resume book will be available moving forward.”
Students who wish to find and interact with recruiters are advised to take advantage of the services described by Walker and listed on the Stevens webpage or to visit the Career Center in person. Most importantly, for the convenience of all attendees of future in-person career fairs, remember to RSVP and register well in advance for Career Center events.
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