Nearly 6,000 students packed Texas A&M University’s Reed Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday (Jan. 26 and 27), hoping to secure jobs and internships that will put their engineering careers on the right track after graduation. The annual Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) spring career fair brought in 288 companies and more than 1,000 recruiters — all hoping to hire talented Aggies.
According to SEC co-chair and chemical engineering student Paige Stubbings, more than 50 percent of seniors find fulltime jobs as a result of the student-run career fair. In the end, that’s what makes all the hard work worth it, she said.
“As an Aggie, getting to give back to the other students, getting to see people find their jobs, find where their lives really start, is really great,” she said. “Getting to see them succeed and to show companies the A&M spirit, what our core values are really about — that’s really why I do it.”
SEC President Andrew West said he received positive feedback from recruiters and students alike.
“I think regardless of whether you’re a freshman or a senior, the career fair is just as important,” he said. “Freshmen will sometimes have the idea that they’re not going to get an internship, or that companies might not be interested in them because they’re just a freshman and they don’t necessarily have a degree attached to them. But it’s just as important to come to promote yourself and learn to market yourself.”
Co-chair Claire Fiorenzi, a sophomore, completed an internship last summer as a result of the career fair. She’ll be an intern at another company this summer, too.
“I really feel this is my way to give back to the other students to really help them get the kind of experiences I got,” she said. “I always encourage every freshman I meet to come to the career fair, because even if the company may not be considering freshmen, it’s still a great way to network.”
West said many of the recruiters return year after year, creating an opportunity for students to demonstrate their individual growth and success.
“Your ultimate goal when you graduate is to have a job,” he said. “This is of the utmost importance. It’s about interacting with companies. It’s about those skills that you get, having face-to-face interactions with recruiters will help you in interviews.”
Those skills will also help students once they enter the workforce, too, he said.
“That’s what you’re going to be doing is interacting with professionals,” he said.
The preparation for the spring career fair, one of the largest student-run engineering career fairs in the nation, began the day after the fall career fair ended last September.
The SEC encourages students to use resources available at the Texas A&M Career Center, including resumé writing workshops, mock interviews, dress code advice and more.
For more information visit the SEC website.