Career Fair to bring jobs, info for student

By Travis Ball
The Collegian

Job fairs provide the opportunity for students to make an impression on a variety of employers, and this year’s career fair will include over 100 companies and organizations looking for new employees at Fresno State.

The Fresno State Career Fair will take place Wednesday on the balcony outside the University Student Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“The fall event generates a lot of interest being outdoors in the center of campus,” said Rita Bocchinfuso-Cohen, director of Career Services at Fresno State. Fresno State has been putting on career fairs since the 1980s, she said. With 116 organizations registered and some on a waiting list, she believes this may be the largest career fair Fresno State has ever had. “That gives us an indicator that it is a pretty good market, especially for new college graduates.”

According to Bocchinfuso-Cohen, this fair is going to cover all different areas. Companies such as Caltrans, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the Union Pacific Railroad, Sierra Summit Mountain Resort and local ESPN Radio 1430 are just a few represented at the fair. Bocchinfuso-Cohen said health care organization, retail companies and financial planning companies will be there too.

“Job fairs are a great way for a student to highlight their communication skills, their people skills and their verbal communication skills,” Bocchinfuso-Cohen continued. “Those skills are very much in demand from employers. So, if you’re a person that has good verbal communication skills you should be at a job fair. You should capitalize on that and put a face behind the resume that’s there.”

A student’s presentation can make an impression as well.

“The more prepared you are the better impression you give a company, the more attractive you are to an employer,” Bocchinfuso-Cohen said. Job fairs are more casual than actual interviews, but very casual clothes should still be avoided. And if you have a resume bring it, Bocchinfuso-Cohen said, because that is usually what companies ask for. “Their hope is that you knew about the fair, you took a look at the list of companies who were coming and maybe even checked out their Web site,” she said.

“At the minimum what they want is for you to come up and engage them in conversation.”

David Mendoza, a junior civil engineering major at Fresno State, said he has walked through career fairs but never actually stopped. “As I get more into my major I might get more serious about a job fair.”

Although he has never been to a career fair, Mendoza does believe it is important that Fresno State has them. “I think this time I might go look and be a little more serious about it,” he said. “Mainly I just want to know what they are looking for and what they expect out of a student coming out of college.”

The companies and organizations attending the fair are told that some students are just looking to find information about opportunities, and Bocchinfuso-Cohen said there is a lot of information to be found.

“There’s a couple questions you want to be able to answer by the time you graduate,” Bocchinfuso-Cohen tells students. “Where do I look for the kind of jobs I’m interested in pursing after I graduate? How much money can I expect to make with this degree and this amount of experience after I graduate? We at Career Services can help with resources to help answer those questions, and a job fair is one way of getting some of those answers.”

Some Fresno State students may pass on what career fairs have to offer. “Some of them don’t want to work right now, they’re not thinking about that,” said Mike Ornelas, also a civil engineering junior. But he said career fairs are important and more students should take advantage of it. “Obviously they are here for a reason, and you’re eventually going to need to know these people.”

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