The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

Students explore job opportunities at career fairs

The College of Business hosted the first day of its Fall 2010 Business Career Fair at the Activities and Recreation Center, or ARC, Tuesday. Over 190 companies are attending the event, which stretches into Wednesday.

Mike Szymanski, junior in Business, volunteered at the event Tuesday. He said the fair is a great opportunity for those interested in seeing what’s out there.

“The fair gives a good feel to look at who’s hiring, which is really exciting,” he said.

The College of Business’ career fair is the first in a series of many for other departments as well, including engineering, multicultural and bio-sciences career fairs.

The fair’s new location at the ARC is an improvement from years’ past, where there is more breathing room, said Victor Lopez, senior in Business.

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“The event has gone really great,” he said. “They finally moved it to a bigger, open space, and that helps the students.”

Megan Musillami, senior in LAS, said that at times the sheer size of the fair can be overwhelming, but if students do some research prior to going, it will not be a problem.

“Research which companies you want to look at and know what they do so that you have something to talk about because they see so many people that you want to stand out,” she said.

Dan Boduch, junior in Business, said he enjoys the various companies there because it offers more opportunities for possibly landing an internship.

“I’ve visited many companies today,” Boduch said. “Everyone seems interested and I’m happy about that.”

Notable companies at the fair included Allstate, Kraft Foods, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Walgreens, among others.

Company representatives stressed the importance of getting involved in one’s prospective career at an early stage.

Mark Moran, manager at John Deere, noted a greater number of younger undergraduates at the fair than in years past. He said that going to these fairs is a great opportunity to find summer jobs that will help out in the future.

“For a company like Deere, a great summer job makes it a lot easier for us,” Moran said.

Sheetal Rami, senior consultant at Healthscape Advisors, said it is important for freshmen and sophomores to get a jump start on job hunting.

“It’s a great experience for the younger undergrads to gain an understanding for what they want to do early on,” she said.

With a competitive job market in an ongoing economic crisis, the best advice for students is creativity, said Nathan Klinker, environmental sustainability analyst at Sears Holdings Corp.

“Keep pushing the envelope. Keep looking for creative ways to make yourself stand out,” he said.

“Look for creative ways to serve your community and do things to show your leadership skills. Everyone is looking for the next leader of a company.”

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