Amongst several other departments and organizations, the Office of Career Services has decided to host one of its annual events virtually.

Career Fair, designated to help students find an internship or starting job position, is held every fall. This year, it will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 14. A major change to the event is that it will be virtual.

“There’s two things that the Virtual Career Fair offers,” said Assistant Director of the Office of Career Services Carmen Maillet. “There are group sessions with employers, and they’re about 30 minute group sessions where the employer will tell the students a little about what opportunities they have and a little bit about their business.”

With an option for one-on-one meetings, students will not have to wait as long to speak to an employer.

“Then, there are also little ten minute individual sessions, almost like mini interviews, where the students can go and look at what company has a session open and they can go schedule and sign up for those,” said Maillet. “So, instead of waiting in a line at a booth to talk to an employer, they’ll be able to schedule a specific time with that employer if they have it open in that ten minute time period.”

In order to attend and participate in the Career Fair, students must follow the steps to complete their registry.

“First, they need to go in Handshake and log in,” commented Maillet. “If they’ve never done that, then there are directions on the website on how to do that. Then, they register for the Career Fair. After they register for the Career Fair they will be able to see all the employers listed with the information about their company.”

With the list of employers, available job opportunities may be posted as well. The list also will include what sessions are open.

The number of sessions available per hour will be determined by the number of companies participating in the fair.

“Some companies may only have one representative, so they’re not going to have as many sessions since there can only be six done in an hour,” said Maillet. “So, if they have more representatives, they will have a lot more sessions open.”

Maillet wants all students to ensure they are properly prepared before the virtual event.

“Just making sure that their computer, or whatever they’re going to be using, has access to the camera and the video,” commented Maillet. “Making sure they complete their profiles in Handshake. The profile can tell more about what they are looking for, what their major is, etc. So, if they complete their profile in Handshake ahead of time, that could be helpful.”

Maillet also encouraged students to download a resume for potential employers to view.

“Anything you would do for a regular Career Fair, you would still want to do for that Career fair as far as having your information up-to-date,” said Maillet.

According to Maillet,  social media accounts can also be useful for employers to ensure students are career ready.

The whole month of October is Career Month, and Maillet detailed some of the events that will be held.

“There are a couple before the Career fair,” commented Maillet. “There’s an employer panel where we are going to have about four or five employers come to answer questions, so people can sign up for that, and then we have a couple of seminars after the Career fair just to help anything following that interviewing, like if they get called back for a longer interview, and also negotiations and communications after the fair.

The Virtual Career Fair will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Students can visit the university website and search for Career Fair to register for this event.