Attending Career Fairs Pays Off

Career fairs are an excellent opportunity for students and prospective employers to learn more about each other. However, many students don’t realize that attending a career fair might be the clearest path to an internship or post-graduation employment.

Student Presence Matters

Ben Webster, a metallurgical engineering major from Canton, Georgia, said he landed an internship with Nucor Steel in Tuscaloosa by attending a career fair on campus after trying other ways.

“Last year when I was a freshman, I applied for probably 20 summer internships online and I never heard anything back,” he said.

“I talked with Nucor Steel for almost an hour and left with an interview for an internship and that turned into a summer internship where I learned so much.”

That internship led to a part-time job for Webster during the school year and even more experience.

“This summer I’ll be working with L3 Harris, which is in the space and defense industry,” Webster said. “Having gotten that one internship, I have a lot more experience and the ability to explore different industries and sectors and things I’m interested in.”

Numbers Equal Success

Data from the University’s Career Center shows that employers are always in high attendance for UA’s career fairs. Many of them expect to hire at least one student they meet during that event. There are currently 288 companies registered for the upcoming career fairs.

“Employers have told us they hoped to have the students they met at our career fair come and work for them,” said Dr. Schernavia Hall, director of the Career Center. “We get feedback from several employers after the fairs and they are continuously impressed with our students.”

“We also know from our Career Outcomes data from the December 2023 class that students who attended a career fair reported earning a higher salary,” Hall added.  

That data also lends credence to both student and career fair success. “Overall attendance by class grew from the previous year,” said Hall. “General interest and business increased by 10% and technical and engineering grew by 47%.”

Hall added that the number of students interviewed by an employer after attending a career fair has also increased by 24%. 

Come Ready to Impress

Students can put their best foot forward with help from Handshake and the Career Fair Plus app where they can learn about the companies in attendance and prepare to meet those employers. Students can also register for career fair crash courses.