By Rebekka Coakley, Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK – Jeff Garis, director of Penn State Career Services, is cautiously optimistic that graduates this year will find more job openings than last year. His optimism is based in part on the success of the 2012 Spring Career Days, hosted at the University Park campus by Penn State Career Services.
Spring Career Days, held Feb. 6-7 at the Bryce Jordan Center, welcomed 333 employers recruiting Penn State students to work for their company, which is a six-percent increase from last year’s total. Garis said not only were there more employers in attendance, a number of them stayed on campus an extra day to conduct interviews with students. So many stayed, in fact, spaces in the HUB-Robeson Center, the Bank of America Career Services Center and the Bryce Jordan Center were booked.
“I’ve been going to career fairs nearly my entire career, and this year I just got a sense of energy, from students and employers,” Garis said. “The demeanor of the employers seemed more lively; they were ready to hire. That reflects national trends, too.”
In addition to the success of the annual Spring Career Days, Garis said recruitment for the yearly People-to-People Career Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 28 — where employers from agencies, camps, educational institutions and nonprofit agencies recruit Penn State students — is up from 39 recruiters last year to more than 100 this year.
While career fairs are a great way for students to meet potential employers, Garis said they don’t meet the needs for all students because they only represent a portion of the job market. He said there are many employers not recruiting on campus. Students should conduct a self-directed job search to find these recruiters and additional employment opportunities. Penn State Career Services can help students manage their own job search. Garis added that individual colleges on campus also host their own career fairs, and students also are encouraged to attend other university-based career days. (Upcoming Career Services events are listed here.)
Students interested in working with Career Services to run their own job search are encouraged to start with drop-in or individual counseling. For more information, visit here.
