Monmouth’s Career Development Office is hosting its semi-annual, Spring Internship & Career Day Wednesday, March 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This semester’s fair is being facilitated through the University new online networking platform, Handshake, which is open to all University Community members.
Beth Ricca, Executive Director for Career Development, gave some additional context students should consider when debating whether or not to attend the fair. “Monmouth students and alumni of all majors should take advantage of this opportunity to meet with recruiters during the spring 2022 virtual internship and career fair. We have 60+ employers from a variety of industries who want to meet MU students and alumni for both internship and full-time opportunities.”
Ricca mentioned that although the fair is virtual this semester, events such as these are great opportunities for University members to make personal connections with local employers and business owners. “This is a great way to connect with the recruiters who do the hiring for their companies. Making a personal connection can significantly increase your chances of being invited to an interview,” continued Ricca.
However, the Career Development Office is hopeful about hosting in-person events in the future. “We plan to return to in- person internship & career fairs in the fall,” said Ricca. “As many companies are returning to their offices it’s important to be able to network with employers both virtually and in-person. Remote work isn’t completely going away; most companies are offering hybrid work schedules, so the return to in-person events will help students more effectively prepare for this new normal.”
Ricca also mentioned some new developments Career Development is exploring, likeHandshake. “Handshake offers students so many resources including 10K+ internship & job postings, access to career events, online scheduling of career coaching appointments, networking with students across the country, online resume reviews and more, so there won’t be any negative impact.”
Harry Termyna, Career Coach for the Career Development Office, elaborated on how Handshake is positively affecting the efficacy of the Office’s career day. “The implementation of Handshake has made networking opportunities much more plentiful. Where our previous platform, Hawks Career Link had about 500 active employers and 2000 postings annually, in the two months we’ve been using Handshake, we already have 3000+ active employers and 11K+ postings for Monmouth students and alumni,” explained Termyna.
According to Termyna, there are a few things students can do to prepare for meeting potential employers. “Students who are attending the career fair should create a Handshake profile, register for the career fair and sign up for individual and group sessions via Handshake, and polish your resume and elevator pitch.”
Linda Gammal, a junior communication and marketing student, said, “I definitely recommend students of all majors take advantage of the internship/career fair. There are different employers spanning so many fields that are willing to speak about the positions they are advertising, as well as offer their input on the industry as a whole.” Gammal reflected, “You never know where a connection may take you, so even if you land an internship, it still broadens your network and communication skills. I was lucky enough to find an internship this past fall at the career fair for a PR firm. I’m so happy that I took advantage of this resource.”
