Record Number of Students Go One-on-One with Employers at NJIT's Career Fair
A record number of students and alumni attended New Jersey Institute of Technology’s latest Career Fair — 3,300 — with some 240 companies looking to fill more than 1,000 jobs, internships and cooperative education experiences.
The macro numbers were impressive — for the third straight fair — but it was smaller moments that students appreciated most, such as the opportunity to talk one-on-one with representatives of companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Mars and Campbell Soup.
Walter Ader, a civil engineering major in his third year, learned about construction company J. Fletcher Creamer & Son and FM Global, a commercial property insurance firm.
FM Global “is massive and I met one of the workers. He was really nice and helpful and told me a lot about the company,” Ader said. “When I interviewed, they were really positive and they said if I ever wanted to move locations, they would assist with that.”
Not every interaction led to an immediate offer of an internship or co-op, but some sparked follow-up interviews. Regardless, the career networking had begun.
“You have to be 110 percent proactive and actually reach out to these organizations and get the conversations going,” said Lucas Havriliak, a junior who’s majoring in information technology and minoring in computer science. “It's work, but if you're really eager to get into the workforce, you gotta do what you gotta do. Persistence is your best friend in this situation.”
Also, some students turned the tables and set up stations for employers to approach them during a Reverse Career Fair. They were encouraged by the response.
Members of a student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering — including Nicole Szponar and Idalia Warren — welcomed visits from reps of Burns & McDonnell and Emerson, among others.
“After meeting companies at the reverse fair, I actually went directly to Burns & McDonnell at the Career Fair to talk about their opportunities,” said Warren, who’s studying chemical engineering in a BS/MS program and expects to complete her bachelor’s in December. “I interviewed with Burns & McDonnell. Also, I was offered an interview by Campbell at the fair and recently by Mars.”
Likewise, Szponar, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, lined up an interview with Mars.
Many participants focused on a particular industry, and found plenty of related companies. But by being curious and keeping an open mind, some discovered industries they hadn’t considered before.
“I particularly wanted to interview with pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson and Merck because I have a lot of family who have worked in the medical sector and the jargon comes naturally to me,” said Havriliak, who transferred to NJIT from County College of Morris. “However, I found that I had more engaging conversations with organizations in the energy and logistics industries. This was unexpected. It taught me to expand my horizons past my comfort zone and to apply to companies that I may not have thought of applying to previously.”
Added Ader: “Even if I was not fully interested in the company, I still talked to them to see what their company was about.”
The fair, organized by NJIT’s Career Development Services, had 10 sponsors: Axtria, Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority, Crestron Electronics, FDM Group, Neglia Group, Parasol Structures, RK&K, SESI Consulting Engineers, TRC Electronics and Verizon.
CDS offers two such fairs each academic year, along with career preparation workshops and opportunities to volunteer. The department exemplifies NJIT’s belief that hands-on experiences are as important as classroom learning.
