September 12, 2005 Source: University of Toronto:
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/050912-1629.asp Career Centre hosts job fair Students will have the opportunity to meet and network with potential employers from various sectors
Sep 12/05
by Suelan Toye Students have just started their first week of classes but the Career Centre wants them to begin thinking about jobs for next summer or full-time positions when they graduate. On Sept. 19 and 20, a two-day career information event will bring some 5,000 students face-to-face with representatives from 68 companies at University College. The conference is organized by the career centre and AIESEC, a student-run non-profit organization that hones students’ leadership skills and provides internships worldwide. “Most employers start hiring this early,” says Angela La Gamba, the fourth-year student co-ordinating the event. “Companies come out with job openings available during the summer or full time at job fairs.” Undergraduate students from all three campuses and MBA students will have the opportunity to meet and network with potential employers from sectors ranging from the banking industry and government organizations to accounting firms. Some have job openings for summer internships; others have full- and part-time positions. Eighty per cent of jobs are not advertised but, instead, are found through word of mouth, says La Gamba, so providing students with opportunities to explore their career interests and to hone their communications skills is crucial while in university. “The best way to find a job is to go out and speak to people. The more people you tell that you’re interested in breaking into a certain industry, the more likely you are to find a job that way.” Although Career Centre staff does not track the success students have in finding a position through career information days, La Gamba says they have polled past participants and have received positive feedback from students. “Most of them going into Career Information Day had a vague idea of what a job search would entail or what recruiters were expecting of them,” she says. “But when they came out, they had a sharper focus and they were ready to tackle the world of work.” Students can also attend preparatory sessions at the Career Centre this week to get pointers on meeting with recruiters. The sessions help ensure that when students speak to corporate representatives next week, they are not only armed with a polished resumé but they are dressed in business attire and have done their research on the organizations that they are targeting. La Gamba has one word of advice for fellow students attending the career event: “Have fun. Enjoy the experience and have a great time networking.”
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