Despite frigid temperatures on February 8, more than 2,100 engineering students made the trip to Hilton Coliseum to talk with employers about opportunities for co-ops, internships, or full-time employment at the College of Engineering Career Fair. More than 530 students met one-on-one with employers to further discuss career opportunities on the following day, increasing interview totals by 67 percent compared to last spring’s fair.
“We are seeing some macroeconomic recovery trends for employers who are seeking engineering professionals,” said Roger Bentley, manager of student and alumni professional development. “The economy’s positive signals translate into increased opportunities for our students.”
Director of Career Services Larry Hanneman noted that this was the strongest day-after interviewing the college has seen since before spring 2008. “This is surprisingly good news for our students,” he said. “It follows on the strong hiring data we saw for fall semester 2010, when employers increased the number of full-time hires by 43 percent and cooperative education and internship hires by 54 percent over fall semester 2009.”
This year, students could access a newly developed career fair blog, a cooperative venture between the Colleges of Business and Engineering, to learn about how to make the most of the career fair from experienced students. They also had an opportunity to attend a networking event to interact with employers in a more social environment.