Jump-start Your Job Search at Fall Career Expo

Over 100 employers are expected to attend the Fall Career Expo tomorrow, which is a 40 percent increase over last year’s Fall Career Expo. Photo by Cydney Scott

It’s time to update your résumé and get your interview suit out of the closet. Commencement may still be seven months away, but tomorrow’s annual Fall Career Expo is bringing more than 100 representatives from nonprofit, for-profit, and government organizations to Boston University looking for students interested in full-time jobs as well as internships.

The Center for Career Development (CCD) hosts a Career Expo twice a year, fall and spring, and tomorrow’s will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom. Participants will include TripAdvisor, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Hillstone Restaurant Group, to name just a few. “We have more than 110 employers that are registered, confirmed, and paid, which is a high number for a fall expo,” says Eleanor Cartelli, CCD associate director for marketing and communications. “It’s more than a 40 percent increase in the number of employers from last fall.” Among those new to the expo are the American Institutes for Research, the Game Show Network, retailer Theory, and the nonprofit Nature Conservatory.

“The expo is a smorgasbord of opportunities for students,” says CCD director Kimberly DelGizzo. “Organizations pay to participate—they have to travel and incur costs to do so—and they do that because they are particularly interested in BU talent.”

Even if a job or internship isn’t on some students’ radar just yet, there is no better place to begin to network or gain experience meeting recruiters than the career expo. Meagan Bernatchez (CAS’14) attended one of CCD’s Career Expos as a sophomore and says the experience was invaluable. “It got me thinking early on about potential career choices, and I was able to scout out some internships,” Bernatchez says. “It also got me to focus on my résumé early and build it from there.”

Erica Krist (CAS’13) recalls being overwhelmed when she walked into her first expo as a freshman looking for a possible internship and realized she had only a few minutes to sell herself to prospective employers. But the experience provided some important lessons. “It gave me confidence for interviewing at other times and forced me to figure out how to phrase my interests,” says Krist. “It also made me more cognizant of how to dress and carry myself.”

For students who want to fine-tune their résumés before tomorrow’s career expo, the CCD is hosting a résumé blitz today, Wednesday, October 16, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. To further prepare for the expo, DelGizzo recommends that students check out the list of organizations attending at the BU CareerLink. “We encourage students to make a hit list of prospective employers, the top 10 or 20 that they’d really like to connect with, and do some great research so they can be prepared to talk about what skills they have to offer and how they fit with that organization,” she says.

CCD staff and student ambassadors will be on hand tomorrow to help students with last-minute preparations. A prep area is being set up in the Ziskind Lounge, where students can practice giving an elevator pitch, a short, succinct pitch for a job or an internship. However, DelGizzo urges students to “think about what to say to employers ahead of time.” There will also be a mirror and breath mints available for students to freshen up.

DelGizzo recommends that students dress as professionally as possible—no blue jeans or short skirts—preferably business suits or business casual.

BU’s Fall Career Expo is tomorrow, Thursday, October 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Metcalf Ballroom, George Sherman Union, second floor, 775 Commonwealth Ave. Find a full list of participating organizations here. The CCD is holding a résumé blitz today, Wednesday, October 16, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the CCD, 100 Bay State Rd., sixth floor. Registration is not required.

Irene Berman-Vaporis can be reached at imbv@bu.edu.