Just in Time: Help Finding Jobs, Internships
More than 40 employers expected at BU career fair today
More than 40 employers will attend today’s Just-in-Time Career Fair at the Center for Career Development. Photo by Cydney Scott
If you’re still looking for a summer internship or are about to graduate and don’t have a job, don’t panic. Help is on the way.
The Just-in-Time Career Fair, being held today at the Center for Career Development (CCD) from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is an excellent opportunity for anyone still uncertain about summer or longer-term plans. The event features more than 40 nonprofit, for-profit, and international employers seeking to fill internship and full-time positions. Among the participating organizations are AstraZeneca, Backupify, GEICO, John Hancock, Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Horizons for Homeless Children, and Teach for America. A complete list of organizations can be found here.
Unlike many jobs fairs held on campus, the Just-in-Time Career Fair is unique in that it is a collaborative effort by all of BU’s career offices. “Each of these schools and colleges holds separate employer events throughout the academic year, so this is a chance for everyone to work together to bring great employers to BU,” says Eleanor Cartelli, CCD associate director for marketing and communications.
All undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni are invited to attend. Whether you’re looking for full-time employment or your first summer internship, you can connect with potential employers in person at the fair. “Organizations in all industries recruit for a variety of positions,” says Cartelli, who strongly recommends that anyone planning to attend today’s event research beforehand the companies he or she is interested in talking to. “Your dream position could be at an organization you wouldn’t have looked at without a little digging.”
Cartelli also advises bringing several copies of your résumé and preparing a 20-second “about me” elevator pitch. She also urges job seekers to dress as professionally as possible: “Wear a suit if you have one, and if you don’t, then men should wear dress pants and a button-down shirt and tie and women a blouse and slacks or pencil skirt.” There will be a student preparation area, where students can do some last-minute research on companies, and BU career counselors will be available to give advice and answer questions. A LinkedIn photo booth will give students the opportunity to have a photo taken while dressed in professional attire. Staff will take photos with students’ cell phones, which they in turn can use to create a LinkedIn profile. “We did it for the first time back in February during the CCD Spring Career Expo and it was a huge hit,” Cartelli says.
Chelsea Diana (COM’14) offers some advice for those new to job fairs. “I’ve attended a lot of them in the past, and it can be overwhelming to put yourself out there so much,” she says, “but you have to remember your confidence.” Diana, who will be working as an intern at the Portland Press Herald in Portland, Maine, this summer, also recommends holding onto all of the business cards you collect—“in case you need to network later.”
The Just-in-Time Career Fair is today, Monday, April 28, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center for Career Development, 100 Bay State Rd., sixth floor. Professional attire is required.
Kat Sorensen can be reached at katsoren@bu.edu.
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