by Jennifer Sanguano

This year’s spring Career Fair featured more than 70 employers looking for potential employees from Central Connecticut State University. As part of their resources, the Career Success Center organized this year’s fair to help students find not only a job, but a career.

“We encourage students to make sure that they come to [CSC], so we can actually funnel them out to the different fairs that are happening throughout the university, but mainly come to our fairs [ in the spring and fall] so they can use those navigating skills to help them with their relevant career,” CSC Advising and Career Specialist Montez Johnson said.

This spring’s fair featured law enforcement, financial companies and medical groups, among others. Close to 500 students attended this event seeking internship opportunities and job prospects. Students were able to talk with representatives and hand out resumes to the companies that suited them best for their career.

For the CSC staff, helping students build skills in the search for a job is just a part of their main objective.

“Our goal is to help students find a career because there’s a difference between a job and a career. We talk to students about finding their passion, because if you are doing something you love, [that] is a career,” Johnson said.

This year, CSC started to operate as a separate department from the advising center, located in Carroll Hall Room 240; their focus is to offer students resources that can help them achieve a career after graduation. Some of the resources offered by the CSC include resume workshops, career advising and support for students with future interviews with employers. The CSC also offers different online resources for CCSU students and alumni seeking career opportunities.

Johnson explains that many students wait until their junior or senior year to visit the CSC. The center is working on bringing the attention of all students and majors, despite their year level, to visit and take advantage of their resources.

“Our biggest goal is to get freshmen to start thinking now about career choices, so we’ve been doing a lot of heavy promotion with freshmen,” Johnson said. “This should be your number one place to come.”

Junior finance student Katy Henderson attended the Career Fair in search of a summer internship after visiting the CSC.

“I went there before the Career Fair. They [reviewed my resume], so they helped me fix it up for the fair,” Henderson said. “It was a good experience, my resume needed a lot of fixing.”

Henderson also used the online resources to be prepare for the fair and reviewed the list of companies attending. She recommends students stay informed and use the CSC resources.

“Check your school emails. That’s how I found out about it. They emailed me about the resume [review], workshops and the Career Fair. There’s a lot of resources,” Henderson said.

Senior communication student Kayla Thompson visited the CSC when she was a freshman and was able to attend this year’s fair; she gave her resume to four prospective companies.

“I always miss it every year because I always have class or I’m working. This year, I was able to make it out to actually try to get my resume to a few companies,” Thompson said.

The fair was a useful experience for many students.

“It’s very organized. They should just probably add more communication,” Thompson said. “It has been a positive experience.”

The CSC will be relocated in the new Willard DiLoreto building in 2019. Students are welcome to visit the CSC department as well as the CCSU online webpage for more information and resources.