It’s that time of year when WPI students and alumni, armed with firm handshakes and polished elevator pitches, head for WPI’s annual Spring Career Fair, set for tomorrow, Feb. 15, featuring 199 organizations, the most ever.
The event, scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. in the Sports & Recreation Center, is open to WPI students and alumni across all degrees and disciplines and features employers looking to fill full-time, internship, and co-op positions. Enbridge Energy, Amazon Robotics, Consigli Construction, and Disney are among the employers who are scheduled to attend.
A student meets with an employer at a past career fair.
“We have companies from all different industries and majors. A nice range,” says Cathy Tomaso, senior recruiting coordinator with the Career Development Center, which sponsors the fair. In the weeks leading up to the event, the center gets swamped with requests from student groups, asking for workshops on career fair prep, she says.
She also advises students to research attendees ahead of time, prioritize their list, and educate themselves on those companies. The center also reaches out to parents by providing them an online workshop, educating them about the fair so they can offer insight to sons or daughters who might be anxious about attending.
“Our goal is to provide our incredibility talented students the opportunity to speak directly with employers about their skills and projects at WPI and to provide employers the opportunity to meet the students that are interested in their company,” Tomaso explains.
In addition to full-time work, many companies look to hire interns and co-ops, as it allows them to track a potential employee’s capabilities before they’re considered for hire, she says. WPI provides employers the opportunity to schedule interviews with prospective employees on campus the very next day. In fact, Tomaso recalls one employer who was so impressed with a student’s credentials that they offered the student a job on the spot.
That student was a freshman.
“Many employers are interested in recruiting WPI students," she points out, "because the project-based learning has equipped students with the skills necessary to be successful in the world of work as interns, co-ops or full-time employees.”
- By Lauren Curran
