More companies will be included at this year’s ProFair on Wednesday than in previous years.
“There will be 76 different companies at ProFair this year, which is a few more than we typically have,” said event coordinator Judy Campos.
ProFair is an event designed to help students connect with potential employers and find internships.
Nonprofit, government and for-profit organizations attend the event to give students information about available opportunities.
“This year we’ve tried to include some different companies,” said Campos. “We’ve got several for the arts and humanities, which in the past haven’t really been represented very well. This year we’ve got a more well-rounded representation.”
A list of companies attending ProFair are available at gotoprofair.org. Companies include John Deere, AT&T, Caterpillar and American Red Cross, among others.
“[Students] should bring their resumes if they are serious about a particular company,” said Michael Edmondson, vice president of career development.
Edmondson advises students to bring their resumes to the CORE office in preparation to present to potential employers.
The CORE office has career ambassadors available to help students prepare resumes. Walk-ins are welcome, or students can make an appointment to finalize a resume.
“But you don’t need a resume if you know that you’re not really interested in any jobs,” added Edmondson. “If you want to do it more as a networking event and you just want to get experience talking to people, that’s cool, too.”
Edmondson and Campos encourage all students to attend ProFair, regardless of their age or intended major.
“There’s a couple ways you can use ProFair,” said Edmondson. “Seniors will use it for jobs. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will use it for internships or maybe a summer job. And everybody can use it for networking purposes.”
“Be professional,” said Campos. “Dress professionally; make sure that you’re prepared. You should have copies of your resume, and you should try to make a good first impression.”
Workshops will also be held this week and the next to prepare students for ProFair.
In past years, the Graduate School Fair and ProFair were combined. This year, however, the Graduate School Fair is held on Oct. 21 in PepsiCo.
Students planning to attend graduate school are still encouraged to attend ProFair.
Edmondson said students can become more comfortable by talking with professionals.
“You can learn about the jobs that are out there,” said Edmondson. “You can talk to people from different companies. The worst thing you can do is think that you’ll just go to grad school and get one certain job and your life will be set. If nothing else, students should go over just to talk to people that they don’t know.”
ProFair is held in the PepsiCo Recreation Center Wednesday from 12-4 p.m., and the first 200 students to attend will receive a free CORE T-shirt.