Fresno State hosted its Career Internship Fair on Feb. 1 at the Satellite Student Union. Students, alumni and representatives of various booths at the event gave their advice about how to interact in a career fair to stand out in the professional world. 

Earl Orejola, freshman majoring in computer engineering: First step is just coming

“Truthfully I’m a little bit more nervous just because I’m a freshman. You know, I have a lot less experience than some upperclassmen. I’m definitely a lot more nervous to go up to them and ask them for internships,” Orejola said. 

He said he came to the career fair because of a friend who is a pre-vet major at Fresno State, so he tagged along to scout any engineering booths. It was exciting for him to see the potential futures and career paths for students. 

He said some booths that stood out were the ones that offered certain goodies. He showed off his cow plushie given to him at one of the booths.  

Although some of the booths didn’t correlate with his major, he still encouraged people to come to these types of events because something completely different can interest students. 

“It’s the first step to just come in here. There’s no risk in just coming in,” Orejola said. 

“Honestly, I made a lot more friends than I expected to make here. And I hope I get to make more,” he added. 

Katherine Nathania, senior majoring in food science: Don’t be afraid to talk

This is Nathania’s last semester, so she wants to see potential full-time jobs after graduation. 

She said certain booths stood out to her like POM Wonderful. She explained how events like the career fair are less stressful than traditional job interviews. 

“I think it’s really helpful. Because when you want to interact with an employer, it’s really hard when you do it one on one, but here you can meet with them directly. And then you can just interact and network, so I think that’s great.” 

This is not her first time coming to the career fair. She attended last year’s event.  Compared to her first time, she was looking for an internship at the time and found one.

Coming back, Nathania said her first time experience gave her more confidence in this year’s event. It helped her know what to look for, what to ask and how to introduce herself. She offered some helpful tips to other students. 

“They should just go for it and don’t be afraid to talk. I think a lot of these people have been in your shoes [back when it was] the first time in their life,” Nathania said.

Marissa Lopez, Fresno State alumna and recruiting operations coordinator for The Wonderful Company: Do background research

Lopez mainly recruits for JUSTIN Winery. The wine company is offering two internships, which is why she was at February’s career fair.  

“We’re looking for students that are looking to be in the wine industry; maybe have an [agriculture] business background or wine and viticulture; and hopefully get them into our internships and learn all about winemaking and our ag business that we do with our vineyard vendors,” she said. 

Lopez graduated from Fresno State in May 2022 from the Craig School of Business with a Human Resources management degree.

As a Bulldog alumni, Lopez said Fresno State has deep connections with the Wonderful Company. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, for whom the Resnick Student Union is named, are co-owners of the Wonderful Company.  

“We’re always looking for students to come work for us and hopefully find an opportunity and a career path with us,” Lopez said. 

Experiencing both sides of booths in a career fair, she said students should “go out and look for their career path and look for what they want to do.” Lopez said it feels amazing to potentially see former classmates and students like her and offer them job opportunities. 

She said freshmen students get a lot of great experiences if they attend career fairs. 

“I give huge props to the students that are freshmen here, and I know it’s so overwhelming and intimidating to be out speaking to professionals, being at these types of events,” Lopez said. “But I think it’s an amazing experience to know what companies are around you and what opportunities could be here for you when you graduate.”

For students, it’s good to network because they’ll never know whose contact information they may need in the future, she added. 

She also said research is important when applying for jobs. 

“We always seek out students that are invested in our company and our mission. So it’s good to do your background research and then hopefully stop by and talk to us,” Lopez said. 

For the career fair, she wants to help students find the right career path and give back to her alma mater. Students can learn more about internship positions at JUSTIN Wine’s website. 

Kris Gibson, partner liaison for Sierra National Forest, USDA:  Be yourself. Meet a lot of people.

The Sierra National Forest, which is under the United States Department of Agriculture, brought representatives from different areas of specialties. Gibson said they wanted to show students the variety of jobs available to them under forest services. 

She listed multiple job positions that the department offers:

• Forest service
• Wildland firefighters
• Law enforcement
• Business administration
• Outdoor foresters 
• Botany
• Soil scientists
• Plant scientists
  

She said if students missed the career fair, they can find job openings at USAJobs.gov. Students can also reach out to any of Forest Service’s three locations in North Fork, Frazier Park and Clovis.

“We like to reach out to local communities because it is nice to have local area folks come and join us,” Gibson said. 

She advises students to meet and network with people, even if it is outside their specific area or speciality. A saying she correlated with the career fair is: “You don’t know what you don’t know”; meaning to create relationships that are diverse so students can know what’s/who’s out there. 

“Exposing yourself to as many things as you can, I think knowledge is power. Knowing what’s out there, what’s available [and] what you think you could add value to,  I think that’s really important,” Gibson said.