Students would like to see more majors represented
It is that time a year again when students break out their best suit jackets, slick resume portfolios and polish up their self-pitch for recruiters. This year is no different in that, the all majors career fair is bound to bring out thousands of overzealous Tech students and alumni. The event will be held virtually from Sept. 21-22 and is expected to host nearly 400 potential employers. Though this career fair will look a lot different than normal, it is still seen as either a huge opportunity to network and to gain interview experience or as a colossal waste of time.
Typically, thousands of students would squeeze into the CRC and anxiously wait in line to speak to an employer for a mere couple of minutes. There is no hiding the fact that the average student will not leave the career fair with an offer from their dream job. It is unwise to go into the event with such high hopes because you will set your self up for failure. Although this mind set seems pessimistic, it will keep you focused should you decide to attend. The career fair should be seen as a time to practice networking, perfect your elevator pitch and to learn to deal with the awkwardness that comes with putting yourself out there for a job that may be over you head.
This is even more important to keep in mind this time around.
Because it is a virtual event and there is a high projected amount of attendees, there will be no time tickets or scheduled chats with recruiters. There will be one general pool of students that chat with each potential employer. Should the employer want to speak further, you will be invited to have a private video call with them.
For those that already find an in-person career fair stressful, this may sound like a nightmare. Recently other major-specific virtual career fairs were held but seemed more organized than the all majors career fair is projected to be. The College of Computing career fair allowed participants to sign up for ten-minute slots to speak to specific recruiters. Although it is understandable why a much larger event cannot do the same thing, it is still frustrating that another solution was not brought forth. In saying all of this, it is most likely in your best interest to check the list of employers that will be in attendance and determine whether or not going to the event is even worth your time. If you are a liberal arts major, then forget everything I just said because the “all majors” career fair is really for everyone except for you.
As a student-run publication, we believe the liberal arts college within Tech is integral to the institution and to deny those students equal access to the same resources as other majors is a huge disservice. Although the majors within the liberal arts college are much smaller, that does not mean they should be ignored altogether. Tech has the power to make the liberal arts college on par with its other colleges, but the resources are not put towards it. There are many students that have more creative majors that end up landing amazing jobs at huge corporations like CNN and Google, but they are not as widely celebrated as a STEM major getting a job at the same place. It is also more likely that Tech assisted in helping them get that job, where the majority of liberal arts students are on their own. The liberal arts college should get a full-blown career fair like everyone else and have more than just four or five employers in attendance. Although liberal arts is a small college, it still is not right for hundreds of students to be fighting for a handful of positions.
In all, the notion that going to the all majors career fair will make or break you is ridiculous. The career fair is a great time for most students to expand their horizons and apply or speak to organizations they did not initially see themselves wanting to work for. It is a great opportunity to practice speaking to new people, pitching yourself and possibly getting career advice, but don’t go in expecting more than that.