Although the number of positions available with some employers has decreased because of the economy, more than 1,900 students attended this year’s Job and Internship Fair.
According to Eileen Bauer-Hagerbaumer, director for employer relations for the Career Development Center, at least 200 more students showed up to the Fair this fall compared to last spring.
At the fair, which was sponsored by the CDC and held in the Events Center on Wednesday, students of all majors were able to meet with recruiters of 74 companies, including non-profit, public and private establishments, to discuss career plans.
Jeffrey Agranoff, director of recruiting for accounting and advising firm Friedman, said his staff saw an increased number of younger faces at this year’s event compared to previous years.
“We’ve been recruiting on this campus for 10 years,” he said, “and I’ve seen more freshmen and sophomores than ever before trying to get a jump start on their careers.”
According to Agranoff, Friedman is hiring for more full-time jobs to help the company grow, as opposed to internship positions, which are less cost effective.
Emerson Network Power, a power infrastructure company, also plans to hire for more full-time positions, but at a later date.
“We’ve had a new product launch this year. When that starts to really hit and gets the sales we’re expecting then we’re going to need to hire more people,” said Kimberly Weinstein, human resources director of Emerson Network Power.
According to Weinstein, after the fair, the resumes the representatives have collected are shared with a leadership team. The team then matches potential candidates to career options within the company.
“We’ve had lines of people today, and it doesn’t give us a lot of opportunities except a quick scan of their resume,” she said.
Weinstein also said BU students came more prepared for the event, as evidenced by a CDC-sponsored workshop she held on Monday. At the workshop students learned what employers are looking for in students who attended the fair.
“About 100-plus of them came to my session on Monday,” she said. “We know this is a good base from which to draw.”
Zach Gordon, a 2008 BU graduate and associated accountant for consulting firm Marks Paneth and Shron, also said the students he spoke to were on the ball when it came to presenting themselves.
“It does seem like a little bit different mix [of students] — a little more competitive,” he said.
But students had mixed reactions to the combination of internship and full-time positions available.
For Matthew Marcucci, a junior accounting major who came to the fair looking for an internship, the reduced number of openings has made his career planning difficult.
“I found that a lot more of these firms are not taking interns this year, which is a little disappointing,” he said. “For an accounting major, you really need to have internships under your belt by the time you graduate.”
Emily Johnson, a senior finance and marketing major, was pleased with the level of interest companies showed.
“I have done a fair amount of research on all the programs so I knew which ones I wanted to go to, and who would be taking resumes and doing on-campus interviews,” she said. “In my experience, they have been very interested in new faces and talent.”