Hundreds of hopeful students clad in business attire with crisp resumes in hand congregated at the semiannual Career Expo Thursday, Sept. 14.
More than 140 companies sent representatives to the Rauch Field House, and students hoped to make connections with potential employers with the ultimate goal of landing a job or internship offer.
Andrea Skimbo, the Center for Career and Professional Development counselor for the College of Arts and Sciences, said this goal has been facilitated by a newly implemented system called Handshake, an online platform that connects students and employers.
Skimbo said Handshake, which replaced LUCIE, has simplified the process for recruiters. Employers can now view several schools on a single channel, which allows them to quickly and efficiently select locations to recruit students.
“Handshake has really expanded the Lehigh presence within recruiters, so we’re seeing a bunch of new companies and much more job postings,” Skimbo said.
Skimbo said many of the employers that attended the Career Expo came from business or engineering companies. She said this is because business-based industries tend to strategically pre-hire employees. Arts and sciences based industries hire on a need-based system, so they often can’t anticipate their demand for employees.
The CCPD advises students, especially those in the CAS, on how to seek opportunities for employment even if their major is not directly represented.
Skimbo works with students pursuing CAS degrees and assures them not to get discouraged if they don’t see companies advertising positions in their exact field of study.
“There’s often a lot of application to other roles within the company that CAS students would be interested in, so I’ve encouraged students to check out not just their job posting, but who they are as a company,” Skimbo said.
Since many employers attend the expo, students are highly encouraged to research and target specific companies. Skimbo said Handshake makes it possible to access information about recruiters to develop a strategy before meeting them. She even advised further research through sites such as LinkedIn so students could make a plan to relate their degrees to potential roles within the company.
While there is a belief that the Career Expo is only beneficial for juniors and seniors, freshmen and sophomores found their proactive attendance to be helpful as well.
“(You can gain) information about the internships they have to offer and other opportunities no matter what grade you’re in,” attendee Rachel Buonasora, ’20, said.
Jacy Yang, ’20, said she hoped to gain advice and recommendations from employers at the event.
Buonasora and Yang researched companies before attending the expo so they could focus on certain recruiters. They agreed students should be encouraged to apply for other positions within the company, no matter their major or field of study.
Skimbo stressed the Career Expo is only one way to job search.
“For some students, it’s coming to the expo and that’s a great opportunity,” Skimbo said. “For some students, it’s other steps like networking or spring recruitment timelines or doing other application processes.”
The next career expo will be held in the spring on Feb. 15, 2018.
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