UMaine’s Annual Career Fair Links Students, Jobs
Contact: Patricia Counihan, (207) 581-1359, George Manlove (207) 581-3756
ORONO — UMaine Career Center Director Patricia Counihan sees increased interest in this year’s annual Career Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 26 as a good omen for the Maine economy.
The fair, being held at the UMaine field house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., has 124 companies and organizations participating, with representatives anxious to scout future employees from the thousands of students expected to attend.
“Companies who used to recruit every year had stopped when the economy dropped, but now they are coming back, IBM for instance,” Counihan says. “I think the economy is picking up slowly but surely.”
Last year 121 companies from throughout New England set up information booths. Companies range from businesses that are little more than sole proprietorships to major corporations — Bath Iron Works, MBNA, UnumProvident or Citigroup, for instance. They represent a broad array of fields, including construction, technology, healthcare, financial, educational, social services, communications, recreation, military and government.
The event is both a career fair and a job fair, Counihan says. Students can discuss products or services, workplace environment and benefits with prospective employers, seniors can get great leads — and interviews — on job opportunities after graduation and underclassmen and women can learn about internships or other experiential education opportunities to help prepare them for when they are ready to enter the job market.
“It’s strictly information gathering, so they can explore what type of careers they’d like to pursue,” Counihan says. “Students can ask questions like, ‘If this is something I want to do, what would you recommend I major in?'”
Some companies don’t know yet if or when they’ll be able to hire, but they still attend the annual career fair to let students know what they can offer. On the other hand, Counihan adds, “We always tell seniors to dress professionally because you never know when an informal meeting can become an informal interview. A senior would be crazy not to go.”
The UMaine Career Center, however, is trying to impress upon all students that the career fair is an unusually informative event for all students, and even faculty, who can keep up with their fields of academic expertise in some cases by seeing what’s happening in the marketplace. .
There is no cost for the career fair. It is designed for University of Maine students and alumni, but students from other colleges and universities are welcome.
Some changes this year, in addition to the location, include an Internet Cafe, which IBM and the Alumni Association are sponsoring, with eight wireless laptops available for students to use for anything from researching companies to system registering with the Career Center’s BearTRAKS system, to filling out on-line job applications, Counihan says.
Also, company representatives who are UMaine alumni will be identified with name tags so they’ll be more visible and which can create a bond with current students, she says. As many as a third to half of the representatives at the career fair are UMaine graduates, Counihan says.
Some of the companies send recruiters to the Career Center in the Memorial Union Building for a few days after the fair to conduct follow-up interviews.
“I’m really thrilled with some of the companies that are coming,” Counihan says. “Employers that are coming are really excited. They say this is the best career fair they attend.”
Counihan expects as many as 2,000 students to attend this year. As an added incentive, there will be a drawing for door prizes for those students who attend and register with the Career Center BearTRAKS system.
Additional information, including a list of employers and organizations signed up for this year’s fair and tips on making the best use of the fair, is available on the Career Center website or by calling the Career Center at (207) 581-1359.
Major sponsors of the 2005 UMaine Career Fair are IBM, Pike Industries, Inc., Sweetser, CDM, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, FPL Energy Seabrook Station, Irving Woodlands LLC, MBNA America, National Grid, Sebago Technologies, Inc., Tyler Technologies/MUNIS Division, UNICEL, UMaine Alumni Association, UMaine Bookstore, UMaine Corporate Affiliate Program and the UMaine Division of Enrollment Management.