Career fair puts students face to face with employers

A career fair at Arizona State University’s West campus comes at the right time and may be the perfect prescription for students concerned about professional opportunities after graduation.

The Spring Career Fair is March 24 and is sponsored by Career Services at the West campus and co-sponsored by Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity at ASU.  It will be presented in La Sala from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The West campus is located at 4701 West Thunderbird Road in Phoenix.

“In the current economy, graduating students and alumni need to be fully prepared and utilize more resources in order to be successful in their job or internship search,” says Sarah McDermott, employer relations specialist in the West campus Career Services office.  “The Career Fair provides a vehicle for students to connect with employers and become comfortable with networking.”

Employers representing over 40 businesses and organization from a wide range of industries will be on hand to discuss career and internship opportunities in such fields as business, education, government, human services, insurance, law enforcement, military, retail and technology.

“You never know where great opportunities can come from and which conversations may lead to hidden opportunities,” says McDermott, who recommends attendees dress professionally, bring a resume, and keep an open mind about positions and companies.

McDermott says such a career fair is a natural for Career Services.  The Spring Career Fair is one of two large career fairs presented each year by Career Services at the West campus.  A pair of networking receptions and a number of smaller fairs are also held, often in conjunction with academic departments.

“Our office empowers students and alumni to become more effective and self-directed in planning for their future,” she says.  “We offer one-on-one career advising appointments, numerous career preparation workshops each year, we conduct classroom presentations, online resume critiques, and we host career and networking events.

“ASU students and alums also have access to Sun Devil CareerLink, our online recruitment and event management system.  It currently contains over 14,500 employer profiles and over 1,000 jobs and internships are posted every week.”

For more information about the Spring Career Fair, visit www.asu.edu/career.  A full list of participants is posted on the site.