More than 2,000 students, 300 employers will attend career fair this week

More than 2,000 students have registered for the Fall Career & Internship Mega Fair this week, which sold out for employers weeks ago.

This semester's event will happen on Wednesday, Sept. 12 and Thursday, Sept. 13 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Livingston campus from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days. More than 300 employers will be in attendance to network with and consider candidates, according to the University Career Services website.

Janet Jones, director of Employer Relations at University Career Services, said that in the past career fairs have not sold out so early.

“There are over 330 unique employers coming and around 2,500 students expected to attend,” she said. "... (This year's fair) has been sold out for several weeks, one of the earliest sellouts I’ve seen in several years.” 

Some employers that will be attending the fair include Yelp, Tiffany & Co., the Texas Rangers, Goldman Sachs and the FBI, among others. 

The process of getting employers to attend the event is a combination of invitations to companies, and companies contacting Rutgers in order to attend, she said. Some have previous connections to the University, while others are invited to provide students with the chance to meet with employers from a variety of fields.

She said that attending a fair provides a starting point for getting a career in the future, provides a connection between students and employers, connects a name to a face and helps students separate themselves from other applicants.

“When you ask students who landed their job where it all began, they usually say they met with the company at a career fair, which led to an interview that led to a job that led to a promotion,” she said. 

William Jones, senior director for University Career Services, said that the office collects post-graduate survey data about what resources were most helpful to Rutgers students looking for a job to help inform future decisions.

Another resource being used by the office is Handshake, an online job portal that launched last year.

The application provides students with job and internship listings, as well as event information, he said. In comparison to the previous Career Knight system, which had 8,935 users, Handshake has more than 16,000 students and alumni currently registered, showing an approximate 182-percent increase since the switch.

“The success is due to the machine learning algorithms in the platform that allow for a more personalized system," he said. "The simplicity and accessibility allows for a more comfortable use and (offers) tailored information for both employers and students.” 

A full list of employers that will be at the Mega Career Fair is available through the events tab on Handshake, as well as other resources that help students prepare, such as Drop-in Resume Critiques and Insider’s Guide to the Career Fair. 

The site allows students to check what employers might interest them and what requirements they need to apply for a position that they want. 

“Take advantage of one of the various fair prep-programming that we have so that you can put your best foot forward when applying to companies and meeting employers,” he said. 

Because Rutgers is considered a core recruiting school, many employers typically come to the University to create a connection between the company name and students, he said. 

Career Services also offers multiple resources to students beyond the Mega Career Fairs held at the start of every semester. Among them include drop-in resume review hours, career advising appointments, career and internship planning guides and connections to Rutgers alumni mentors, according to the website.

“Mega Fair offers students a great opportunity to meet with many different employers from a variety of industries, to learn about the job search process and the opportunities available to them,” she said.