The Center for Engineering Career Development hosted the Engineering, Science and Technology Career Fair Monday and Tuesday. The two-day event drew more companies than ever before.
The career fair gives students a chance to meet employers face-to-face, provide their resumes and learn more about a given company, Employers Relations Manager Peggy Reed said. This often results in interviews and ultimately a job after graduation.
“Many companies do follow up the next day with interviews with the students they meet at the fair,” Reed said. “They frequently grab applications from the students they meet today and will host on-Grounds interviews tomorrow.”
For this reason, a high percentage of engineering students attended the fair. Out of the approximately 2,700 undergraduate students in the Engineering School, over 1,000 students visited the career fair Monday, and more than 900 attended the event Tuesday.
Many of these students left with connections which will help them obtain their first job after graduation.
“We do a self-reporting survey at the end of the school year,” Reed said. “About 75 to 80 percent of our students find jobs, a large portion of them from this event.”
This year, the career fair attracted well-known companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Rolls Royce, Capital One and HBO. Government agencies such as the CIA, FBI and Department of State also sent representatives.
In total, 172 companies registered to participate in the event, compared to 154 registered companies last year.
“Employers are very impressed with the students here,” Reed said. “They choose to recruit from U.Va. because of the quality of students that they see from this institution and at this event.”
The career fair also offered a number of opportunities for graduate students and those majoring in subjects other than engineering. Furthermore, employers sought underclassmen in addition to third and fourth years.
“There are companies that are looking for interns as well as full-time hires,” Reed said. “There’s a number of companies that look specifically for second-years because they want to start that relationship with the student as a second-year, not as a fourth-year.”
Biology major Katie Aracena, a fourth-year College student attended the fair despite not being an Engineering student. Aracena said she found the experience helpful.
“The companies that come to these events are looking for U.Va. students, so that’s an advantage,” Aracena said. “I also feel like I can highlight my skills before the interview stage — that’s really helpful for me personally.”
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