The University held its third annual Communication Career Event on Tuesday, February 26 from 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm in Wilson Hall.
The Communication Career Event was split into three parts; Information Panels, Résumé Review and Interview Practice and the Networking Event and Internship Fair.
The Information Panels ran from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm in various rooms within Wilson Hall. The Résumé Review and Interview Practice took place in the main room of Wilson Hall from 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm. The Networking Event and Internship Fair were also held in the main room from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.
Organizations that attended the event included HBO, AMC, ESPN, MLB Network, NHL. com, Shamrock Communications, Townsquare Productions, WWE, Flex Magazine and more companies from television, radio, public relations, journalism and communication studies.
Students from every discipline within the Communication Department gathered to Wilson Hall to extend their knowledge of their career opportunities. Students were exposed to University alumni who currently have jobs in the communication field. They were also able to explore new career options, network with professionals in their major and speak with companies about internships and jobs opportunities.
Following the event, many professors asked students what their thoughts of the event were. Brad Brown, senior, said, “I went to the Communication Event as a senior to look for opportunities, either an internship or paid position, to get myself out in the field and be successful right out of Monmouth.”
Brown continued, “I think the event went very well. However, one of the weaknesses was a lack of opportunities in the field of on-air radio broadcasting. I know there are a lot of students looking at on-air broadcasting and it would be good to get those opportunities for those people to be in front of the camera or over the radio.”
However, Brown also mentioned, “There was more variety this year, which is good for returning students. There were also returning companies which is good for those students to build and maintain their previous contacts,” Brown continued.
Andrew Bern, junior, said, “As a transfer student to the University, this was my first Communication Event. I really enjoyed it. There was a great diversity of people from public relations, radio, TV and all other aspects of communication. I was able to meet with a wide diversity of companies from sports from the production side, on-air talent, and a bunch of other jobs.”
However, Bern said, “One of the weaknesses was the size of name cards and organization problems, such as not knowing who you were talking to before going up to introduce yourself. Next year, I would organize the event better with signs for each company and separating the Networking Event from the Internship Fair to hear better and divide the crowd and focuses, as well as get on-air broadcasting companies to attend.”
The event was not hosted exclusively for students and companies looking to hire interns or employees. University professors also used this event as an opportunity to network and gain new contacts within their field. Professors were able to reconnect with past contacts, learn more of the ever-evolving communication industry and help promote students and watch their students succeed in the field.
Eleanor Novek, communication professor, was very impressed with the event. She said, “Some of the strengths of this were seeing former students with careers right out of college.”
Some of the weaknesses of the event that Novek discussed were “alumni not committing until the last minute or last minute dropouts.” Like many students, Novek felt that the biggest change was in the organization of the Career and Networking event.
As Novek continued, she expressed the need for a separation of the Networking and Internship fair as well as creating a more formal setting. “As a professor, I come to these events to see former students succeed in their focus and spread their knowledge and experiences with current students,” said Novek.
Crowds around alumni and company representatives made it hard to navigate and find the companies that students wanted to speak with. The multitude of people also made it difficult to hear and communicate with the representatives.
“Organization and acoustics were two major problems,” Gregg Cambareri, junior said. “Companies could be matched with bigger signs, as well as relocating to a different area, so everyone is not all talking in one big area making it very hard to hear and network with professionals.”
Matthew Lawrence, communication professor, estimated that over 300 students were present at one point. “I felt like the event really stressed the importance of networking and meeting representatives in your field in the future,” Lawrence said.
He continued, “I was very impressed by the number of students, how they all looked and behaved. I was also impressed by the number of alumni that attended because it means that they value their education and opportunity and want to give back to the younger generations.”
