Monmouth Career Fair and What It Can Do For You!

A popular event on campus is Monmouth’s annual Fall Career Fair where a large number of employers come out to talk to students about the majors and skills they are looking for and positions they have available. Especially exciting and an incentive for all students to attend is that companies are often looking for internships as well as full-time positions. This event always has a great turnout and is mutually beneficial to both students and employers.

This year there was a large turnout of tech companies that students from the Computer Science and Software Engineering department were thrilled to meet with. This included many of the local employers who are frequently visible on campus - Defined Logic, Forefront, and WorkWave, to name just a few - to the larger companies with local and national opportunities, such as Microsoft and the Mitre Group. I was also surprised to find that, in addition to the tech companies, many other employers were actively looking for students involved in coding and technology since it is so prevalent across all industries. For you non-CSSE readers, I’m happy to share that the technology companies were also looking for students in a variety of majors, even those outside of the tech field.

While visiting the Career Fair I made it a point to talk to as many companies as possible. I was anxious to see and report on what employers were looking for when considering students for internships and full time jobs. I came away with some notes about qualities that I felt all the companies were looking for - you NEED to have a personality, be able to hold a conversation, clearly articulate what you are looking for in a job, and the skills that you have that the company would be interested in. Companies want you to stand out, to show them why YOU should be someone they think twice about and bring in to get to know better. It seemed that the employers I spoke with all felt the same. They all asked questions about my personal life, what I wanted to do in the future and what background and experience I had. If I had been unable to answer these, it is likely they would not have asked me to leave a resume, but because I could and did answer these essential questions, I’m happy to report that they did.

The Career Fair is also valuable as a tool to help students decide the direction they want to go in the future. Talking to many different employers, all with different types of jobs available, one can get a feel as to the type of position that is more appealing and help identify their future direction.

The Career Fair is one of those “must attend” events where every student should come from freshman year on up and make it a point to speak with at least one company in their area to find out what they are looking for in prospective employees. A number of students receive jobs or internships after connecting at the Career Fair. Mark it on your calendars for next year!