All students welcome at job fairs

Business suits, high heels and ties are about to be busted out over the next few weeks with numerous career fairs coming to campus.

In September alone, there are seven fairs, beginning with the Computer Roundtable on Thursday. On Sept. 14 and 15, Purdue Engineering Student Council will host the Industrial Roundtable. Over 200 companies will be present.

Tim Luzader, director of Purdue’s Center for Career Opportunities, said all students are welcome to attend all job fairs, no matter what their majors are. The CCO also posts any career fairs they find out about in surrounding cities such as Indianapolis or Chicago.

Linden Petrin, associate director for career development at the CCO, said students who are interested in attending the fairs are encouraged to attend the CCO’s Resume Blitz, which will take place Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help student get their resumes up to par.

Petrin said students should also be working on their elevator pitch for the fairs.

“When you’ve waited in line and you go up to the recruiter, what do you say in that short amount of time,” she said. “Because there’s people waiting to speak with them so they’re not going to spend a lot of time with you, so what do you say to catch their eye?”

Petrin said their are videos on the CCO website that can help students develop their 30-second speeches.

The College of Liberal Arts’ career fair has been canceled for the past several years, but Petrin said that shouldn’t stop liberal arts students from seeking opportunities.

“There are lots of jobs – companies who may not be coming to campus, but are looking for students with all majors,” Petrin said.

Luzander expressed the importance of knowing background on each company and their missions.

“An important piece students (should know is) get a sense of what is important to the company, get a feel of their culture ... the more you know of an organization, you may think differently of how you might present yourself,” Luzander said.

Petrin and Luzander both emphasized that students should not worry about going to the career fair because of the fear they do not have internship experience or as much experience as another student.

“It’s not so much what you did, it’s what you learned,” Luzander said.