Fall Career Fair Draws a Record 118 Employers

A record 118 employers set up tables in Ironclad Fieldhouse on Tuesday for the fall Career Fair. Last fall there were 109. Career Services stopped taking registrations eight days early when the floor plan ran out of room. About 1,460 students came through the doors between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Recruiters were mostly looking for the same few things: nursing graduates sitting for licensure in the spring, manufacturing and controls engineers, cybersecurity analysts and supply chain staff. Thirty-one employers had never attended a Porter fair before. Eleven of those were from the Cities and said they had heard about the fair from Porter graduates already on their payroll.

Some of the changes this year:

• A co-op and internship row. Twenty-four employers recruiting only for co-ops and summer internships had their own aisle, which first- and second-year students used much more than in past years.
• Resume reviews at the door. Career Services staff and 14 alumni volunteers reviewed about 330 resumes in a line by the south entrance. The longest wait was 22 minutes.
• A quiet room. A side room off the concourse let students collect themselves before or after a conversation. It was used steadily all day.

“Five years ago I was calling employers to ask them to come. This year I was calling them to say we were full. That is a nice problem, and next year we are going to need a bigger floor plan.”

— Jolene Brandvold, Director of Career Services

Students who missed the fair can still reach many of the same employers through the job board and the spring fair in February. Employers that could not get a table were offered interview rooms in Commerce Hall the following week, and 19 took them. Advice on what to bring and what to ask is on career fair preparation. The full calendar of fairs, including the spring health-professions fair, is on career fairs, and appointments are booked through Career Services.

Contact: Office of University Communications, news@uwporterfalls.edu