CCSU Spring Career & Internship Fair
February 17, 2020
Central Connecticut students dressed to impress as they brought along their resumes to the CCSU Career Success Center’s Spring 2020 Career and Internship Fair.
In the span of three hours, over 80 employers gathered in Alumni Hall to offer students a number of job opportunities: from internships to part-time and full-time positions. Despite being only one day, weeks of planning took place prior to the event.
According to Montez Johnson, associate director of the Career Success Center and Explore Central, it can take up to one to two years to ensure access to the facility, as well as to gather enough employers willing to participate. At the conclusion of each career and internship fair, the Career Success Center begins working on its next one.
“We hope that [students] get connected, that they recognize that they have a resource. Its always been important to us as a career office to make sure that students know about this,” Johnson said. “Each year we get bigger and bigger.”
The annual event serves as CCSU’s general career fair and is catered to all students. For this reason, the Career Success Center makes sure to accommodate all majors, from engineering to philosophy and anything in between.
Senior Tyler Heaven appreciated both the array of diverse employers and the opportunity to put himself out there to potential employers while at the event.
“It’s the best way to get a job. It makes the whole process of finding a job a lot easier,” Heaven said.
Regardless of whether students in attendance were offered an internship or a part-time or full-time position, they were given a chance to practice presenting themselves to employers, dress professionally and network with others.
Upon entering the fair, students were given a floor plan of the event setup to help them best navigate their way through the different tables and employers. On top of being able to network with others and share their resumes with employers, students had the opportunity to get free professional headshots taken.
For sophomore Janelle Taylor, this was her first time working at the fair.
“I’m big on human interaction. I love being able to see the students and see them getting involved in the job process,” Taylor stated. “It’s awesome. I love it.”
Most of all, Johnson said he hopes that students know they have a place to go in order to find jobs that are relevant to their specific degree program. Throughout the year, the Career Success Center even hosts specific events to assist students pursuing specific careers including a manufacturing fair, an engineering fair and an education fair.
“We try to make sure that we have those pockets of fairs for students to go to find a relevant career because there’s a difference between a job and a career. A job is what all students do,” Johnson said. “But we want to make sure that we get [students] away from the job mentality, take those transferred skills that [they] have from those jobs and make sure that it’s following a relevant career after [they] graduate.”
For assistance with career plans or goals, students can visit the CCSU Career Success Center located in the Atrium of Willard-DiLoreto Hall. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday.
