As new and returning undergraduate students at Baruch College settled in to the Spring 2020 semester, the Starr Career Development Center swung into action by hosting two of the biggest career and networking events of the year – the Spring 2020 Undergraduate Jobs and Internships Fair, and the 2020 Diversity Career Expo.
The Spring 2020 Undergraduate Jobs and Internships Fair took place on February 7th, with over 85 employers attending the event in search for the ideal candidate to fit various vacancies at their respective organizations. The employers represented a number of diverse industries such as media and communications, not for profit, healthcare, food and beverage, and fashion and beauty among others like banking, finance and accounting. Over 1,000 undergraduate students from all three schools at Baruch – The Weissman School of Arts & Sciences, The Zicklin School of Business and The Marxe School of Public and International Affairs – attended the event to meet with professionals from organizations such as KPMG, PwC, RSM, Havas Health & You, NYC Department of Education, NYC Department of Correction, Central Intelligence Agency, SEO Career, and many more.
To help students prepare for the career fair, Starr hosted multiple resume writing workshops along with career fair prep workshops with employers such as BNP Paribas where representative shared insights on how students can make the best of the networking opportunities at the career fair, and to present themselves to employers. One of the most popular services provided by Starr – the Clothing Closet – a wardrobe of business attire which is available for students year round to borrow from, free of cost, for professional meetings, interviews and networking events also made its presence felt on event day.
The 2020 Diversity Expo was held on February 25th, with three different career advancement events taking place simultaneously. 25 employers participated in the expo in a mini career fair style networking event, where popular booths included The Estee Lauder Company, Yelp, Group M, BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Google, CyraCom International and others, where they interacted with close to 400 students from all three schools, all class years and across diverse backgrounds at Baruch. In a first, the Max Berger Pre-Law Program and the Baruch Pre-Law Society hosted a Pre-Law break out session for students interested in careers in law. In collaboration with the CUNY School of Law, the breakout session served as a platform for students to learn about various pre-law career pipeline programs hosted by Baruch and CUNY.
Students interacting with employers at the mini career fair at the Diversity Career Expo
The highlight of the 2020 Diversity Expo was a keynote address sponsored by Google, with Google’s Diversity Lead, Jodie Taylor addressing students on challenges and opportunities for people of color in the corporate environment. Jodie interacted with close to 120 select students, who attended the keynote on a first come, first served basis, by sharing her own experiences as a woman of color, and by answering intriguing questions by students. She then went on to interacting with students at Google’s booth at the Diversity Expo.
Students interacting with Jodie Taylor from Google, at the keynote address
Hosted by the Starr Career Development Center, the Spring 2020 Undergraduate Job and Internships Fair and the 2020 Diversity Career Expo mark two more successful networking events for the career center for undergraduate students at Baruch, with many more programs and workshops scheduled for the rest of the semester. Dr. Ellen Stein, Director, Starr Career Development Center said, “The support we receive from our co-sponsors, employer partners, alumni, faculty, Baruch administration, Public Safety, staff and students always leaves us overwhelmed and encourages us to continue to help students at Baruch become the best version of their professional selves before they head out into the real world. While there are some students who attend these events to take their first steps toward flourishing careers, we also have recent alumni who are seeking career advancement, or a change in their current career trajectories. These career fairs and networking opportunities are platforms that serve these purposes, and we are elated at the continued success and support we see and receive year after year.”
Representatives from BNP Paribas setting up their booth at the Diversity Career Expo
The Starr Career Development Center would like to thank all of the Deans, staff, faculty, volunteers, students and participating organizations for attending the Spring 2020 Undergraduate Jobs and Internships Fair and the 2020 Diversity Career Expo. We look forward to featuring these organizations and many more in a variety of innovative networking opportunities that will enable students to advance their careers.