Students brush up on skills at career fair

Michelle Hennessy – News Writer

     Southern’s annual Career Fair was back last week, attracting both local and national companies, including public schools, Five Guys, and the FBI. Over 80 companies attended the fair in the ballroom and Frank LaDore, director of Academic and Career Advising, said he hopes it gives students an opportunity to network with future employers.

     “You’re going to be applying for jobs to companies that receive thousands of resumes,” said LaDore. “This is your opportunity to meet with employers one-on-one to show them your passion, show them your personality – you’re just a piece of paper if not.”

     This year’s event was held in the Student Center’s Ballroom last Wednesday and has been held at Southern every spring for more than 20 years. LaDore said it gives students information about proper etiquette when applying for work, including dress codes and help with resumes.

     “All of our career services: how to fix your resume, how to dress properly, all those billboards are here at the entrance,” said LaDore. “We want our students as they come in to be prepared, there’s nothing worse than seeing students come in wearing jeans so that’s why we offer that because it’s a reflection on our university. If people are dressing sloppy these employers won’t come back. I’ve spoken to a couple of employers and they’ve been pretty impressed so far with what they’ve seen.”

     Attending the event also gives students an opportunity to see what they can do with their degree and what different kind of careers are open to them.

     “What’s going to happen is, you might be a business major and come in, and there was a software company here called Square Nine and they’re looking for management and computer science people,” said LaDore. “You may not have a computer science background but you might change what you want to do just by speaking with these people here.”

     Exercise science sophomore Fends Estinfil agreed and said it gave students an opportunity to see what options there are for students after they graduate. He said he has found Southern o be good at helping students with their careers.

     “This isn’t the first time they’ve done something like this, I feel like they keep you on your toes and keep you informed,” said Estinfil. “Things like this helps keep your options open and think outside the box.”

     Liberal studies senior Carlo Roch said he found this to be a great opportunity to speak with future employers.

     “I’m just here to take advantage of the opportunity that they’ve given us to see what’s available to us,” said Roch. “This is the first time I’ve come to this, it’s great to get an opportunity to see what I can get from my degree.”

     He said he’s heard firsthand what attending events like this can do for students.

     “I actually heard students talk about it and I heard a student then got hired from said company so that’s why I’m here,” said Roch.

     Senior Janlee Baylon also appreciated the event, she said she hoped it would help her find a career after graduation.

     “I will be graduating this May and I’m currently looking for a job to land on after graduation so I’m looking to find something that’s in my career,” said Baylon. “I think it’s a very helpful way to get students out there. Like they can polish up on speaking to employers and they can learn to present themselves so it’s pretty cool.”

     Though LaDore said the total number of employers in the Student Center’s Ballroom only represented a small number of local and national employers, he said there was still lots of opportunities available.

     “Students can learn so much just about what’s out there,” said LaDore. “There’s hundreds and hundreds of companies in New Haven and only 85 are here, but that’s 85 employers looking to hire somebody.”