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The University of Maine Career Center and the student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers sponsored its third annual engineering job fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in the Wells Conference Center.
“It was a huge success,” said Patty Counihan, director of the Career Center. “Over 300 students attended, which were 100 more than last year, and 32 companies participated this year, which was four more than last year.”
The event was an opportunity for engineering employers and students to meet face-to-face and discuss career possibilities with their respective companies. Students learned about the many opportunities available to them after, or even before they graduate. Many employers attending the fair had open positions in their companies they were looking to fill.
The engineering job fair was primarily designed for engineering majors, but students outside the engineering field could find resources available at the fair.
“Not only were employers recruiting engineers, they were looking for students majoring in the sciences to fill research and development openings as well as some paid summer internships,” says Cathy Marquez, assistant director for employer relations at UMaine.
Since many engineering firms conduct their hiring process in the fall for full-time professional jobs that begin after graduation in May or June, the engineering job fair was held in October in order to give students the opportunity to present themselves and their resumes to employers early. It also allowed them to be able to compete with graduates from other engineering schools in the Northeast for the vacancies.
The engineering job fair made it easy for students to apply for jobs and speak with engineering employers in one convenient location in a short amount of time. It also attracted many employers to come to campus to recruit, some of whom would not otherwise recruit at UMaine. It also made it efficient for the employers, as they could informally interview many job candidates in a short amount of time.
Students who attended the engineering job fair were pleased with the results. Engineering majors were encouraged to attend the event in order to make themselves known to companies.
“It seemed like many companies were looking pretty aggressively for new employees,” said Adam Hewitt, a senior mechanical engineering major. “I was able to make a significant number of contacts with potential employers. I have found that becoming comfortable talking to job recruiters has helped me interview better.”
One employer present at the engineering job fair was Columbia Forest Products. Thursday was their first time attending the engineering job fair, but they had attended the more general career fair, also sponsored by the Career Center.
“We were looking for a mechanical engineer to work in a traditional manufacturing environment,” said Carl Shoemaker, human resource manager at Columbia Forest Products. “We haven’t hired anyone yet, but I will be following up with at least three of the candidates I met. We would definitely attend again in the future.”
Some employers who attended the fair planned to stay and conduct formal interviews with students on Friday at the Career Center, located on the third floor of the Memorial Union. Over 85 students were interviewed on Friday by employers from five different companies.
