Did You Know? : Career Fairs at Auburn

Did you know?

What year in college should you start attending career fairs?

Junior Year

How many career fairs are there each year at Auburn?

• A part-time job fair is held in August of each year.
• The largest fairs are the Career Expos held in the spring and fall semesters.
• A career fair for students looking to apply to different graduate schools around the country.
• Also, there is a summer job/internship job fair in the spring semester.

Are there other career fairs at Auburn besides the ones that the CDS hosts and organizes?

Each of the 14 colleges at Auburn put on their own career fairs are various points during the semester. Many of the colleges have several career fairs specifically for each major with in the college throughout each semester.

What is the main objective to focus on while at a career fair?

• Get and interview with the company, even if you do not receive the job you will gain valuable interviewing experience.
• Network with potential future employees
• Sell yourself!
• Research the company before the Expo. Then ask detailed questions about what the company is currently working on.

Should you stay in contact with people you interview with, but did not necessarily get the job?

The answer is easy…of course! Maintaining a good relationship with companies is recommended by Auburn’s CDS. Just because you may not get the job right away in the future is good to have contacts for other possibly job positions that become available.

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Nancy Bernard, the director of Career Development Services (CDS)
for the CDS for over 29 years and has a lot of knowledge about how to
take advantage of the opportunities of a career fair in order to find a
job after college.
oversees and organizes Auburn University’s career fairs. She has worked

The CDS just recently held their annual Career Expo for students who
are majoring in technical and business non-technical fields.
“60 companies came to the Career Expo over the two days of the event which is great,” Bernard said, “However, most of these companies were

hiring on a limited basis.”

Several students reported to the CDS that they did get interviews
from the fair. Interviews with companies means that the career fair

does in fact work and is a benefit to Auburn students.

And with the economy the way it currently is, “We had what I think
was a very good turnout for February…because the job market is so bad

and there is so much unemployment,” Bernard said.

The next fair to hopefully produce some interviews if not job is for education majors. Education Interview Day
will be held on Tuesday, March 2, at 9 a.m. in the Hotel at Au and

Dixon Conference Center. 40 school systems from around the country will
be represented at the fair.

Schools are looking for teachers now so that the new employees are be able to begin working in August full-time.

“This is the most active time for education majors,” Bernard said.

So do not miss this wonderful opportunity especially if you are an education major looking to start your career.

“Going in unprepared is one of the worst things that a student could do,” Bernard said.
The CDS can review your resume, set up mock interviews to practice your skills and they can help you learn how to negotiate salary after getting a job. These services are a beneficial to students and need to take advantage of the help while studying at Auburn.

Career Development Services is located on campus at 303 Mary Martin Hall. Student and alumni walk-in hours are from 12-4 p.m., Monday through Friday or call 334-844-4744 to set up an appointment with a career counselor for specific help about your career fair experience. Or you can visit their Web site at www.auburn.edu/career for more information.