Dressed in professional attire and resume in hand, Plattsburgh State students are invited to the Internship and Career Fair scheduled for Oct. 16 in the Angell College Center.
The fair, which is being put on by the PSUC Career Development Center and PSUC School of Business and Economics, will feature approximately 70 different recruiters for students to speak to.
PSUC Director of Internships and Career Opportunities Mary Carpenter said the event is open to the entire campus, and all students are strongly encouraged to attend even if they are not planning to graduate for a few more years.
“We’re making it easy for students to network,” Carpenter said. “The event will give them the building blocks to get comfortable with the process of job searching and help build relationships with employers.”
Career Development Center Director Julia Overton-Healy said not only will students get real-life experience interacting with potential employers, but it will also show them how to go about conducting research on those companies.
“It will be to their advantage to come in already knowing how a specific company operates so they’re not going in blind,” Overton-Healy said.
Overton-Healy and Carpenter both emphasized the importance of making a good impression on the fair’s vendors, saying that simply dressing in clean, appropriate business casual clothing and bringing several copies of one’s resume will go a long way.
In order to prepare for the fair, students are also invited to attend the other workshops being held by the Career Development Center.
After leaving the fair, Overton-Healy suggested that students reach out to the exhibitors that same night through email to thank them for making the time to attend the fair and further market themselves. However, students should double check the email and make sure that it is properly written and send it from an appropriate email address.
Carpenter said students should take advantage of this event and others like it because it can help them lay the groundwork for future employment opportunities.
“No one should be starting the process in their last semester,” Carpenter said.
Overton-Healy said she agreed and encouraged underclassmen to begin the process as soon as possible to leave room for possible changes or alterations to their plan.
“College is very much a safety net for students,” Overton-Healy said. “If they decide down the line that they have changed their mind and want to pursue another path, they come to the Career Development Center and we will figure out a plan. It is not like starting from scratch.”
Email Maggie McVey at news@cardinalpointsonline.com.
