The Career Center held a career fair on campus at the University of Oregon earlier this week. I was skeptical about finding a job or paid internship at such an event.
All I could think about was the college fairs that I attended five years ago as I tried to find the right college to attend. The college fairs were crowded and chaotic. Plus, all the information that was presented to me in person could have been obtained online and in the comfort of my own home. In short, college fairs were a waste.
But with some coaxing from my friends and parents, I threw on a shirt and tie, edited the resume and went down to the career fair hoping to get an offer or two.
When I first walked in, I saw exactly what I had expected. There were over 50 booths set up in a loud, cramped and chaotic room. I was all dressed up, however, so I stayed and wandered around to several booths. In the end, I the winter career fair was a success. And I came away from it with a different perspective on career fairs. In fact, after searching around on teamworkonline.com, I think I’ll head south for an NBA job fair in the Bay Area.
Here are two of my most promising leads from the UO winter career far.
Booth number 39: Campuspoint.com
Campuspoint was the second booth I stopped at. I had done a little research and felt that I was a good fit. Campuspoint is an online company that helps college graduates get jobs. A student posts his or her resume on the Campuspoint Web site, and then a student can search for an employer that fit that student’s abilities. It was great talking with Hirav, the recruiter for Campuspoint, about the company and how education and skills fit perfectly with a company such as Campuspoint. In the end, Hirav gave me his card and told me to call him to set up an interview.
Booth 59: internOregon
At the career fair, I did not just have my mind set on job offers. That is why I stopped by to talk with Britt, the Internship Coordinator for Department of Administrative Services in the state of Oregon. My dad worked for the government before he retired, so I figured I would talk with Britt about possible government positions. She was very optimistic about getting hired on after the 12-week intern process. And I would have the opportunity to meet with state government officials during the training that takes place in Salem, Oregon.
