Job Fair Frenzy

By Tom Mullen

sense of organized chaos filled the room as sharply dressed students extended hand after hand to shake with recruiters.

The Colorado State University Spring Job Fair took place Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the Lory Student Center’s main ball room. The space was jam-packed with students outfitted in their best business attire as they hunted down possible internship, part-time and full-time positions armed with their resumes and cover letters clutched in hand.

The fall is the key recruiting season for employers and the center puts on a larger three day fair during the fall semester but for the spring it is compacted into a single day. According to Summer Shaffer, the assistant director of marketing and guest experience for the Career Center in an email interview, 112 companies attended ranging from Target to Marriot Hotels. “We had to turn away additional employers due to capacity limitations,” states Shaffer, “…we have a wonderful employer relations team who recruits new employers and strengthens relationships with employers who already participate in our services.” mentions the turnout of businesses is a “promising trend for students that hopefully demonstrates a positive turn in the economy.”

The annual fair is an event for many students hoping to open doors to job opportunities for after graduation such as Senior Hospitality major Christina Tatangelo. A veteran of these fairs, she has struck gold here before. “This is the third fair I’ve been to. I got an internship with Marriot last year by coming,” she states as she waits in line to speak again with the Marriot Recruiters.

CSU alumna, Sophie Nelson, an attendee at the fair only a year ago, now stood in front of the Target table as a recruiter. “A friend of mine and I were hired by Target by coming to this fair,” Nelson says, “Now I’ve been working for them since June.”

Radio station 99.9 The Point recruiter, Shelley Heier had words of praise for prospective interns from CSU. “You can really tell the difference from other colleges; the students here have such a better attitude,” says Heier, “We hire at least 8 to 10 CSU interns each year.” Students upset they missed out on this particular fair need not worry as the Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Career Fair is coming up on Feb. 15 followed by the Construction Management Career Fair on Feb. 21. These fairs will feature recruiters from companies interested in students majoring in these areas. More career fairs are set to be scheduled for the fall semester