University Career Fairs - Amazing Networking Opportunities or Time Wasters?

Back in October 2010, I attended a career fair at Brandeis University in Waltham, where I am currently a fourth-year undergraduate. Each semester, Brandeis’s Hiatt Career Center hosts an on-campus career fair in which approximately fifty companies participate. There is no denying the fact that these events are an excellent way for students to explore career opportunities and to have their resumes seen by dozens of potential employers. However, I sometimes question if the fairs are implemented in the most effective manner possible. At Brandeis’s fair, there were simply too many students packed into too small of a space. The room was extremely crowded, long lines formed in front of the booths of many employers, and recruiters were not able to have meaningful conversations with students. In most cases, students simply introduced themselves, handed a resume to the recruiter, and moved on. Not the most satisfying of interactions.

I recently had the chance to attend another career event, the Career and Internship Connection (CIC) fair, which was held at the John Hancock Convention Center in Boston. I found this fair to be far superior to Brandeis’s for a few reasons. First, it was only open to students who registered a month in advance, and the number of attendees was capped at a number that would prevent overcrowding and massive waiting lines. Additionally, students were able to apply for information interviews with specific companies through the CIC website. I was lucky enough to secure an interview with one of the firms I was most interested in, and I had a great conversation with their recruiter about my career goals and positions that seemed like a good fit. Overall, I found the CIC fair to be a much more pleasant and informative experience than the Brandeis fair.

In order to be most advantageous to all parties involved, attendance at university career fairs should be limited to a finite number of students, depending, of course, on the size of the venue and the number of employers participating. Additionally, more time should be set aside for one-on-one conversations between students and employers. Otherwise, both students and recruiters are likely to leave the event feeling like no genuine connections were made, and that their time was not well spent.