The Career Fair

BY VERONES PADILLA

SC Staff Writer 

The Career Development Center held their spring Career Fair last Tuesday, March 4th in the Keystone room from 1 PM – 4 PM.

The onslaught of publicity all over campus that the Career Fair received proved worthwhile, bringing in the biggest student turn out in recent years.  Over 375 students swiped their eCard in the Keystone room.

Students were given a chance to network and leave Resumes with 63 different companies currently hiring throughout area.

Participants were from a wide variety of industries including, but not limited to, Not For Profits, Healthcare, Hotel and Hospitality, Education, Criminal Justice, and Financial Services.

Trooper Manuel R. Hicks of the Pennsylvania State Police was very impressed with the student turn out.  “I saw many highly qualified candidates this afternoon.  Career Development did an excellent job today,” he said.

Both the Companies and students were asked to complete surveys about the fair.

The majority of companies surveyed all said they were very satisfied with student the quality of the student turn out and networking possibilities.

“I think I may have found a few great leads for some positions we need filled but I also made some great connections with some of the other companies here,” said Sandra Harmon of KidsPeace.

The results of the student surveys show most were looking for internship opportunities.  Over 75 percent of the students surveyed said to have found and employer of interest and the experience overall worth the trip to Keystone.

Although some students would have liked to have met with companies outside the greater Pocono area.

Many of the companies that participated were in fact only looking to fill part time work.  But finding people looking for full time work was a challenge for some.  While a few of the professionals at the Career Fair argued that part time work is sometimes the best way to get a foot in the door, some students wished to have had a few more options.  The staff at Career Development is already trying to make the necessary changes to make this happen for next semester.

“Going forward, I would like to continue increasing the diversification of the employers and have more out-of-town representation,” said Daria Wielebinski, Director and major coordinator of the Spring Career Fair.

It wasn’t all business either.  The Lehigh Valley International Airport raffled off a goody bag to one of the many students who stopped at their table.  The bag was filled with souvenirs from past air shows the airport has hosted.  The winner of the raffle was contacted by Career Development to collect his prize the next day.

There were a few setbacks.  Despite efforts from the Career Development Center, many students went to the fair without Resumes or researching the companies at the fair.  This, along with a few girls in tights, were the biggest complaints of the companies surveyed.

If you were one of the fortunate students to have made some progress in the job search, Career Development wants to know.

They are currently working at building up the “Got an Offer” tab of their website.

The goal is for the page to be another resource for Students to get insight on what job searching is really like, and what really works.

To submit your story, email Melinda Rosen at Careerdevelopment@esu.edu

For those who still do not have current resumes, it is important to use the resources provided by the university.

Students can make an appointment with one of the counselors at the Career Development Center, (570) 422-3219, or speak to a professor.

Email Verones at:

vpadilla@live.esu.edu