Prairie View A&M University’s Career and Outreach Services hosted the 38th Annual Career Festival on Oct. 1-2 at the MSC Ballroom.
Students arrived in packs as they were hoping to gain an edge in their respective career fields. With more than 100 companies in attendance, this was the largest career fair Prairie View A&M University has ever had.
“This by far to me was one of the best that I’ve been to,” said Glenda Jones, director of Career and Outreach Services. “I was really impressed.”
The career fair, which also featured Fortune 500 companies, had to be rescheduled once due to Hurricane Ike. In spite of Ike, even more companies showed up than expected.
“I was pleased with the turnout of the companies because we had to reschedule and I thought a lot wouldn’t show up because of the hurricane,” said Jones. “We were actually lucky a couple didn’t come because the ballroom was packed.”
Students were able to go from recruiter to recruiter and network with them about potential jobs when they graduate from college or possible internships. Some students were even lucky enough to get interviews the very next day.
“I had interviews with Cargill, Dell, and Prudential,” said senior mass communications major Kristin Stephenson. “I was talking to them and we had some really good conversations and they asked me to come in for an interview the next day,” she said.
Leaving the career fair, employers were very impressed with the students. Members of the Houston Police Department said that this had been one of the best career fairs they had attended.
One factor that made a contribution to this career fair being such a success was the dress code that was strictly enforced. If students weren’t dressed professionally, they were asked to change clothes if they wanted to enter the ballroom.
“I thought the dress code was good,” said sophomore Kedrick Hayes. “I think it’s a good eye opener for college students as we enter the real world.”
A number of volunteers from G-Force, Career Ambassadors, Student Affairs and Institutional Relations also gave their time to help make the career fair attendance surge to record heights.
“The number of volunteers we had also contributed to the success of the career fair,” said Jones. “Without them, it wouldn’t have operated as smoothly as it did.”
In the event that you didn’t get a chance to visit with all the recruiters, you may go by the Career Services Center in Evans Hall and review the companies’ recruitment material or visit their respective Web sites.