A Record Number of Students and Alumni Visit Fall Career Fair

Highlights included new employers, student prep room and LinkedIn photo booth.

September 16, 2013

Rows of people vistying employers at the Fall 2013 Career Fair

Students get a head-start on their professional development at the Fall 2013 Career Fair.

By Brittney Dunkins

More than 1,500 students and alumni donned their best business attire for the George Washington University Fall 2013 Career and Internship Fair held in the Charles E. Smith Center on Thursday.

“For the last several years we have broken the previous semester's record of student and alumni attendance at the fair, and this was the largest turnout we’ve ever had,” said Senior Assistant Director of Employer Relations Graham Bottrel.

The annual fall event presented by the GW Center for Career Services with support from the Career Services Council, was an opportunity for students to network with a diverse group of more than 100 prospective employers and explore their opportunities in the nonprofit, public and private sectors.

“This is a university-wide event that provides the opportunity for all GW students and alumni to market themselves for internships and full-time positions,” said Assistant Provost for University Career Services Rachel A. Brown.

Employer development efforts outlined in the Career Services Enhancement Initiative brought in a new crop of employers, including  Venture for America (VFA), a two-year program for college graduates that seeks to spur job growth by empowering students to be entrepreneurs through education and experience.

“Our philosophy is that smart people should build things,” said VFA Talent and Retention Manager Lauren Gill. “We think the best utilization of students’ talent is to join a start-up and be a part of a business that is going to revitalize the economy and help them achieve their career goals.”

VFA was one of six organizations, including the CoStar Group, Macy’s Inc. and longstanding partners Clark Construction, Teach for America and the U.S. Department of State, that met with GW President Steven Knapp at the fair to discuss college graduate recruitment.

In 2013, CoStar Group hired eight GW students via on-campus recruiting.

“For many employers the Fall Career and Internship Fair serves as the start to their recruiting season at GW,” said Managing Director of Employer Services Staci Fowler. “The event allows students to make positive, in-person connections with a broad range of employers.”

Students also had the opportunity to use the LinkedIn photo booth sponsored by GW Alumni Relations. Andrew Snow, B.A. ’05, a professional photographer, took photos of students and alumni that can be uploaded to their LinkedIn profile.

The GW Alumni Association group on LinkedIn is open to all alumni, students, faculty and staff and currently boasts more than 26,000 members. 

“We encourage students to have a great professional profile and picture so they can begin networking on LinkedIn,” said Director of Alumni  Career Services Michael Steelman. “We host monthly GW LinkedIn Virtual Networking Hours to help connect the thousands of GW students and alumni on LinkedIn. In just this past year we had more than 1,500 Colonials from 30 different countries participate in these hour-long, virtual speed-networking sessions.”

Senior James Abys-Smith, a political science student graduating in December, was impressed with the photo booth. He is an avid user of LinkedIn and has participated in Career Services’ one-on-one career consulting and used the online 48-hour resume and cover letter critique service.

“I connect with my friends professionally, former colleagues and bosses, and I also look at the management and hiring staff of organizations that I’ve applied to, so I can know who they are on a more personal level before the interview,” he said. “Having a good image on LinkedIn is important because it’s a chance for people to see who you are.”

Career Services also provided a “prep room” for students where they used iPads and a computer to research employers at the fair and practiced their professional introduction with university-wide career services staff.

“We want students to feel comfortable talking to employers,” said Graduate School of Political Management Career Services Director Margaret Gottlieb. “The advice I give to students is to research, practice the ‘elevator speech,’ relax and say thank you.”

Preparing students for the rigors of the workplace is a multifaceted process, said Managing Director of Career Learning and Experience Anne Scammon. She added that working directly with employers was integral in developing the prep room.

“We really listen to what employers say they need, because the end goal is for the employers to be interested in our students and understand what they have to offer,” Ms. Scammon said. “We want the students to be able to articulate their skills, interests and goals.”

The fair is one of the “foundational career activities” outlined in “My Career Success Plan,” a comprehensive action-plan created by Career Services to prepare students for the workforce through an array of skill-building activities, workshops and events that focus on self-knowledge, leadership, digital preparedness, occupations and industries, workplace and interpersonal skills, application materials, networking and interviewing.