Career and Internship Fair Returns for Success

Nearly 500 students and alumni gathered in their business attire to connect with potential employers and sharpen their networking skills at Montclair’s Spring 2022 Career and Internship Fair – for the first time in two years.

Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Education in collaboration with all the colleges and schools, the Career and Internship Fair brought in 63 companies, from Amazon to the United States Secret Service to campus, including three new companies that joined this year’s roster – Azenta, Labcorp and City Green.

“This year featured a more robust list of career partnerships that will provide more access to careers and internships across disciplines,” said Assistant Provost for University Advising and Career Services Danielle Insalaco-Egan.

Not only was the Career and Internship Fair, which was held on Wednesday, March 16, the first in-person career fair in two years but also the first University-wide spring semester fair in five years, so it was a big draw for both alumni and students – students like junior Computer Science major Chris Rojas drove an hour just to attend.

“I actually don’t have class today so I drove an hour over here since I’m looking for internships,” Rojas said. “They had a lot of open opportunities here, and I like that they had a photo shoot as well. I definitely needed the photo shoot since I don’t have any pictures and there were a lot of connections that I made. So it was worth the drive.”

As an extra incentive for students, Career Services hired a photographer to take professional headshots of students to use for their LinkedIn profiles.

Upon arrival, students and alumni submitted their resumes through Hire a Red Hawk and browsed the employer list. Sebastian Ruiz, a junior Biology major, appreciated the variety of career opportunities he saw listed in Hire a Red Hawk.

“The listings that I saw were a lot of STEM-related career options like LabCorp and just a lot more than there have been in previous years. I feel like it’s pretty successful for the most part since I haven’t seen many STEM-related career options previously,” Ruiz said.

Students were pleased to have access to even more career and internship opportunities than in years past. Victoria Cseuscsik, a junior studying Business Administration and Finance, expressed interest in learning more about opportunities in the local Montclair community.

“The turnout is really nice,” Cseuscsik said of the fair. “Most of these companies I have never heard of before. So it’s very interesting to see what is actually in this community and learn more about what they can offer within the State of New Jersey and even beyond that.”

Most employers at the fair were looking for career-driven students and alumni who are self motivated and eager to learn while helping the company grow. Each company was set up on a numbered table with flyers, business cards and free gifts to showcase their organizations.

Jaci Pulice is the corporate recruiting director for Beacon Hills Staffing Group, which is one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing staffing agencies. Pulice was interested in meeting students and alumni able to take on a leadership role in a full-time recruiter position.

“We are looking today for students that are self motivated, hardworking and want to be in a rewarding career. We’re more so looking for transferable skills in customer service, sales oriented roles and leadership roles,” Pulice said. “We’re interested in meeting you because what we do in staffing is we connect job seekers to jobs, and it’s a commission oriented environment. We offer merit based promotions, incentive trips, shopping sprees and a lot of fun stuff.”

For those interested in summer internships, Joy Roach is a volunteer at the Quest College Ministry and is looking to hire student interns.

“The goal today is to look for students that are looking for internships in a variety of different fields that we offer at Christ Church. Our foundation is kind of run like a business. So we have many different areas where students can get valuable information and experience,” says Roach.

Opportunities may knock at unexpected times, even on an elevator door. While many students and employers were making connections on the 7th floor of University Hall, Maria Cury, the talent acquisition manager of Earth Cam, and Sufian Eid, a senior Biology major, were trapped in the elevator for 25 minutes on the way up to the fair.

Cury explained that if it weren’t for that unfortunate circumstance, they would not have even met.

“So we got stuck and it turned out to be a great conversation because as a recruiting manager, I’m constantly hiring. He has been struggling to find a good job. And I have a sister that works for Quest Diagnostics that can potentially help him find a job,” Cury said. “So we would probably not have even connected if we did not get stuck in the elevator.”

As for Eid, his “elevator pitch” came in handy.

“Basically I wanted to attend the Career Fair to look into working for Quest Diagnostics,” Eid said. “Maria…told me to send my resume [to Quest] and I’ll be referred. That was the only connection today.”

To apply for jobs advertised at the Career and Internship Fair, sign into Hire a Red Hawk. Starting in May, students will start using Handshake to facilitate job and internship hunting.

Photo Gallery: Career and Internship Fair brings together students, alumni and employers

Story by University Communications intern Rosaria Lo Presti. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.