UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 230 unique organizations are registered to log on and connect with Penn State students during the virtual Spring Career Days career fair in early March.
The annual career fair has moved online to keep students and recruiters healthy and safe while providing the unique opportunity to connect with organizations from across the country.
While virtual career fairs aren’t always the most ideal recruiting environment they do provide unique benefits. Removing travel allows a wider variety of organizations to attend, gives smaller firms the ability to log on, and provides easier access for students across all the Commonwealth Campuses, as well as World Campus students.
Organizations planning to attend have indicated openings across all U.S. time zones in over 90 different job categories. Full-time, internship, and co-op opportunities are divided into nontechnical and arts/architecture fields on March 3 and technical fields on March 4.
This year the College of Arts and Architecture's Stuckeman School is partnering with Career Services to host their virtual fair in conjunction with the nontechnical recruitment day. Expanding the variety of opportunities for all Penn State students, is a main priority for career fairs — both in-person and virtual.
Career services professionals saw firsthand how virtual career events could work during Fall Career Days in September 2020. With more than 6,000 students attending, the planning team saw over 18,000 conversations happening virtually.
Since the success of Fall Career Days more improvements have been made to make the virtual recruiting experience even easier for students. Employers will have the ability to chat with multiple candidates at once to keep wait times to a minimum while students will be able to see real-time wait times while virtually in line.
Students can maximize their time and make the most of Spring Career Days by doing some research in advance:
- Register to attend the event.
- Research organizations ahead of time and make a list of top targets.
- Understand how to prepare for a virtual career fair.
- Test your technology and learn how to use the platform.
- Know where to turn for help.
Career Services is continuing to offer virtual drop-in hours and career counseling appointments to help students with questions about their career goals or preparing for Spring Career Days.