Upcoming Grads Hunt for Jobs

BY MARY WILKERSON

From the Secret Service to Waffle House, the spring 2010 Employer Fair had an assortment of 41 employers at the Stafford Campus Thursday, March 18. The event was only open to UMW undergraduate and graduate students.

The Employer Fair offered students an opportunity to speak directly with potential employers and circulate their resumes.

“It’s really scary,” senior Brittany Adams said about trying to find a job. “Even though I am intimidated, I am trying.”

The fair was active, but not overly crowded, with around 60 students present at any one time and a total of 200 students participating.

Several key tables had lines for the majority of the fair, including the Department of Homeland Security, Geico and the Peace Corps. Other tables were notably deserted, such as Waffle House, Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless,and The Vitamin Shoppe.

Alion Science and Technology senior recruiter Bella R. Taylor was at the fair looking for engineering and electrical engineering majors. Taylor described the fair as “a little slow.”

“The resume is used for initial attention, but we’re looking first and foremost for people skills,” National Park Service representative Greg Marty said.

Student reaction to the fair was mixed.

“I was very happy with the size,” junior Ryan Lott said. “I went to the last job fair, one that had only government jobs, and it took two and a half hours to get into the building. There were quite a few good employers at this job fair. I got to talk to around 20 potential employers and handed out over 10 resumes in under an hour.”

“There was a good variety of schools, government jobs, and some other fields of work,” senior David Thompson said. “I think the job fair was helpful. It’s always good to get out and talk to employers.”

Senior Christopher Kamphaus was not as pleased.

“It’s too small of a location,” Kamphaus said. “I didn’t see Geico until I was almost out of the door because it was squeezed in between two other tables.”

The UMW Office of Career Services sponsors job fairs for students every year.

“I felt good about it,” Gary Johnson, director of career services, said. “Student attendance was up, and employer feedback was positive. Some schools were unable to hold job fairs, while we held two.”