New career fair tech receives mixed reviews

Photo by Michael James

Regardless of how scary the idea of Career Fair might have been just a week ago, the event has come and gone quickly for Tech students.

Students, or rather, aspiring young professionals, worked hard to make the best impression possible. They woke up early, did their research, meticulously ironed their suits and trekked all the way to the CRC to be greeted by lines reaching all the way to the Stamps Fields. This was a slight surprise for most attendees.

“I waited for an hour on the first day, but it was definitely worth the wait because the conversations I had with the companies were worthwhile and I made great connections that could help me in the future,” said Kelly Kujawa, a 4th year IE major.

This year, the fair also brought a few innovative changes with it and attempted to improve the process for students and employers. There was a lot of effort put in to make the event technologically advanced, with the use of tools like RecPass and the Career Fair App.

RecPass was a an app created specifically for connecting students and recruiters in events like these. It typically works in three steps. First, students create an account by attaching their resume and expanding on their career goals and contact information. They are discovered by employers and recruiters and are presented with a QR code that recruiters can scan at the career fair to instantly access students’ information in one intangible place.

The objective of using this app specifically for career fairs was to create a more streamlined process for employers to eliminate accumulating stashes of paper, and to make collecting resumes electronic instead. The app was also intended to create more time for discussing interests and qualifications rather than filling out forms or working with paper, according to Career Services.

“I never even used my RecPass,” said Jamie Morsberger, a second-year IE student.

Chris Sandhage, a third-year ChBE continued, saying, “RecPasses would be great and all if every student hadn’t broken their backs to print off nice resumes on nice paper.”

All of the recruiters at Tech used the app by scanning students’ QR codes on iPads. However, many employers still took paper copies of resumes for a back-up in case students had not registered.

The one main positive that came from using RecPass from the students’ perspective was a speedy check-in process if they had registered online prior to the Career Fair.

By registering with the app, students were able to bypass the large lines and check into the fair much more quickly, allowing more time to mingle with recruiters.

However, the crowded lines still existed and were caused by the fact that students would eventually have to register with RecPass to get into the fair, regardless.

Another new tech initiative this year was the rollout of the Georgia Tech Career Fair Plus app for iOS and Android.

The app is loaded with valuable information for live-stream use while at the fair, and included information like company listing information, real-time updates and an interactive floor plan to efficiently maneuver through all of the company booths to find your favorites (and, of course, the ones with the best free swag to give away).

There is also a section for quick last-minute tips to prepare for talking to recruiters, which is always helpful for calming pre-fair jitters. Ultimately, this app lessened the need for paper maps and confusion, among students’ other worries.

Career Services has made an active effort to include smartphone usage and electronic aspects into the event.

Although the reception by students has been mixed regarding the true efficiency of these technological advances, they are interested in seeing how the applications will be continued and used for future fairs.

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