Employers, students eager to connect at career fair
George Apostolou (left), a junior studying economics, and Alexandra Kud (right), a junior studying finance, walk with their resumes to the fair. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Rachel Mishich, Claire Leahy, and Carmen De La Torre (from left to right) plan out what booths they plan to visit before the fair. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Ella Jaeger, an undergraduate studying consumer behavior and marketplace studies, talks to a recruiter. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Students packed the Kohl Center concourse during the Career & Internship Fair in September 2023. UW's excellent career preparation helped it be named a "Best Value College" by Princeton Review. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Jiejie Wen, a masters student in a one-year business analytics program, pets a UWPD therapy K9 during the fair. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
A student talks to a recruiter from S. C. Johnson & Son. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Friends (from left to right) Ananya Guruprasad, Erica Henderson, and Harsh Kadodwala stop to talk during the fair. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Audrey White, a senior studying finance, talks to a recruiter from Enterprise Holdings. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Molly Cole, a sophomore studying finance and risk management, stands in line with her resume waiting to talk to a recruiter. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Tess Trueblood, a senior studying marketing, talks to a recruiter from CIL Management Consultants. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Paris Thompson, a junior studying environment sciences, talks to a recruiter from Ball Horticultural Co. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
William Mitchell, a junior studying economics and psychology, laughs with recruiters from Midwest after winning a prize from their booth. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Diego Guerrero, a junior studying supply chain management, talks to a recruiter from S. C. Johnson & Son in search of an internship. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Arthur Franco Teodoro Duarte, a masters student from Brazil studying agronomy, talks to Natalie Shea, a recruiter from Pentair. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
Son Dam, a first-year masters student studying computer science, talks to a recruiter from Uline. Photo by: Taylor Wolfram
On Wednesday evening, recruiters representing more than 200 employers gathered at the Kohl Center for the fall 2023 UW–Madison All-Campus Career and Internship Fair, eager to meet with the nearly 3,500 students and recent alumni who attended the event.
“We hire a lot of Badgers,” said Jordan Bryant, campus recruiting manager for Uline, a distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials throughout North America. “I think for us, attending the fair is about brand recognition and helping students know who we are as a company. Learning about a company through talking to actual people as opposed to websites or things like that is really valuable.”
Presented by the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, School of Business, School of Human Ecology, and SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science, the event offered employers a chance to connect with a wide range of talented students.
“Employers are really seeking UW–Madison students,” said Angie White, executive director of SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science. “We often get calls months in advance about when our career fairs will be scheduled. Employers want to make sure that they get it on their calendars because they really want to come and hire our students.”
Brett Jones, Director of Employer Engagement at the School of Business, noted the impact of employer engagement.
“One thing that makes this event so special to us is the engagement that we get from so many different great companies,” said Jones. “The level of partnership that these players bring, not only to this event but to other areas around recruiting and supporting student career development at the School of Business and across campus, is just tremendously impactful.”
The all-campus event, hosted each semester, is open to all UW–Madison students and alumni who graduated within the past two years. It offers attendees an opportunity to explore a variety of careers, employers and job opportunities, as well as gain insight on how to set themselves up for successful job searches and careers.
“I was able to have some really great conversations,” shared Julia Fernandes, a senior majoring in health promotion and health equity. “I even got some free resume advice from one of the recruiters because I was able to translate some in-class experiences that I hadn’t put on my resume.”
Devaj Mehta, a freshman in the School of Business, shared his goal for the day.
“I’m a freshman and obviously I’m just trying to get my foot in the door and meet
some people and companies… so I can create opportunities for myself down the
road or potentially create an opportunity now. It was nice to be able to connect
with people and potentially find companies who I feel like I would be comfortable
working for and places that I feel like I would be a good fit at.”
In addition to the All-Campus Career and Internship fair, the fall 2023 job fair schedule includes a Public Service Fair, the Virtual Technology, Data & Analytics Career Fair, the Equity & Inclusion Career & Internship Fair, and a Risk & Insurance Fair. There are also events and resources available from the dedicated career service offices in each school or college.
