Advice from the dean: How to succeed at the Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair
Sophmore Pre-Business major Ja’Ami Mock discusses career opportunities with a representative from Danfoss at the Spring Business Career Fair at Hilton Colisseum on Wednesday
September 24, 2018
Iowa State’s Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 26 from noon to 5 p.m at Hilton Coliseum.
David Spalding, Raisbeck endowed Dean of the College of Business, said “one of the most important things our students can do is go to the career fair.”
The career fair is held every fall and spring with more than 200 employers attending from across the United States.
The Ivy College of Business has a approximately 96 percent placement rate for their students after graduation, Spalding credits the career fair as large part of this high placement rate.
All College of Business students are encouraged to attend, especially sophomores who are in a prime position in their academic career to obtain internships.
“That internship between sophomore and junior year sets you up for the future. By the time some students hit the fall of their senior year they have their full-time job, they don’t need to go to the career fair the fall of their senior year,” Spalding said.
The career fair is also important for freshmen to attend as they get the opportunity to talk to companies without having to worry about leaving with an internship.
Spalding said many students forget companies are happy to talk to freshmen, as more and more are developing internships for younger students after encouragement from the college of business.
“Even if you don’t end up with an internship after your freshman year, the experience of having talked to companies you may be interested in builds on itself,” Spalding said. “Many of those same companies will come back next year, and when you come back and say, ‘hey I was in your booth last year,’ they’re going to mark on the fact that you were so interested that you came back again.”
The first time attending the career fair may be intimidating, but attendance from the beginning of a student’s academic career is important to gain experience.
Talking to a range of companies can also help students narrow down what area they want to go into as employees are able to share what they do on a day-to-day basis, Spalding said.
“The most important thing to remember is that the people in those booths really want to talk to you. Those companies are making a real investment by having employees there to talk and engage with students,” Spalding said.
