Career Fair Feedback

Feedback, or “constructive criticism” as it is sometimes called, is always a good way to check in and make sure what you’re doing works and to see how it can be improved.  I thought this would be a good time to share some employer feedback from the Professional Job Fair last week.  It seems that the requirement for professional business attire was definitely a step in the right direction; many employers commented on the improvement over past fairs, and we’ll continue to require it in the future.  Employers said that many students were well-prepared, especially in the area of research on employers.  In general students were able to articulate their interests well, and some of the “elevator speeches” were very good.  Students were engaging and proactive, and resumes were “strong” for the most part. 

Now for the “constructive” part—watch for workshops, blogs, and handouts from Career Services as we try to address these concerns. We still need to reach more students with preparation suggestions and focusing on a few key employers based on interests, rather than just “walking the floor.”  While some students were quite outgoing, some were very hesitant and had to be drawn into conversation by the employer; elevator speeches and quick introductions needed polish for the majority of students.  (See “elevator speeches” above!)

All in all employers were pleased with our students and compared us very favorably to our bigger neighbor to the north.  Keep up the good work, and practice those quick elevator speeches to introduce yourselves! A great place to do that is at our Speed Networking event on November 13^th at 5:30 p.m. in the Crescent Club in the Vaughn Center!