By Jason Cunningham
Travelers Insurance is one of the many companies that will be participating in Central Connecticut State University’s Insurance & Financial Services Fair on Tue., Oct. 12. The fair will go from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Alumni Hall in the Student Center. The fair is being sponsored by a cluster of insurance and financial services companies to provide information on job hunting and career building as well as a comprehensive look at the entire finance industry.
“Travelers has been recruiting kids on our campus [and] putting forth grant money to help the college move forward. They ran a resume development workshop. They give money to the athletic program as a corporate sponsor,” said David Fearon, professor of management and organization at CCSU. “It’s significant for Travelers to give us some of their time and funds to alert students of the potential to have a career in that industry.”
Travelers Day, a career fair that was soley for Travelers recruitment, began in 2008 when the School of Business asked employees from the insurance company to council students on campus. Students were able to learn about internships, the hiring process and opportunities for graduates seeking their first jobs. While Travelers has been hiring CCSU students for many years, this was the first time CCSU and the company established a partnership. The following year they did Travelers Week, which went for four consecutive days. Travelers employees, some of which were high-ranking executives, visited classrooms over the course of the week.
“They hire locally and we’re a local campus,” sad Fearon.
Because of the changes that have occurred in the economy, career building jobs like those provided by big companies like Travelers aren’t available like they once were.
“We recognized that we needed to step our game up. We partnered with Travelers to get more events going to show [students] that Travelers was interested in employing them,” said Fearon.
Currently, a recruitment team keeps regular office hours at CCSU. A member of the team sets aside a morning of each week to meet with students. Advice for students’ progress in their academic program and preparation for internships are offered as well as help with course selection for students who want to work in the finance industry.
“What’s happened over time is that word has gotten around, not only in the School of Business, but students from backgrounds in Arts and Sciences and Engineering book time with them,” said Fearon. “Travelers focuses on the knowledge they have on the insurance industry. They insure everyone: hotels, churches, factories, so they need students with construction backgrounds, engineering and science backgrounds, people to go out at look at the risk end of things.”
Travelers works closely with a diversity team and closely with diversity clubs. According to Fearon, Travelers wants to be sure that the work force that they bring in over the next few years is as diverse as their cliental.
“We have a couple dozen of our best students who are working there. Business Week has designated it one of the top 50 American companies to launch a career,” said Fearon.
To schedule a time to meet with a Traveler’s representative for advisement go to ccsu.edu/business and click “Book Traveler’s Office Hours” to access the appointment locator.
“Central provides probably the most graduates of people who stay right here in this region. They stay here after graduation, they make their careers here,” said Fearon. “Every single faculty member at Central will use every alumni contact we have, every friendship we have, to get the word out that our Central students sill stick around and start careers here. You’ve got to make a case for Central students.”
