By Ruixiang (Richard) Wu
CPA fair, Career Fair, Corporate Presentation, Networking Event… Most students (job seekers to be exact) are more than familiar with these on-campus events hosted by STARR Career Development Center. Big four accounting firms, major banks and financial firms all come to campus to recruit Baruch students. Students just love these events since it is so convenient to attend them. However, what if the companies that you are hoping to reach have no plans to come to Baruch’s campus? What are you going to do? Should you just wait for them to come? Sometimes when we focus too much on what we see on campus, we miss a lot of opportunities outside. Going to on-campus events might be convenient, but attending off-campus events may open a whole new world for you.
During the week of September 16, 2013, I was able to attend three different events outside of Baruch campus. They were “Digital Games: You Can Be a Player,” “STEM Career Expo” and “Microsoft Career Day at John Jay College.” All of these events really broadened my horizon about different industries and the job opportunities that they have for undergraduate students.
The first event was “Digital Games: You Can Be a Player” hosted by the Center for Communications in Kumble Theater in Long Island University, Brooklyn. During the panel discussion, I had the opportunity to hear from various industry professionals, including a CEO, a game developer, a Chief Creative Strategy Officer, and a Tech Writer who all shared about how the game industry works. They explained in detail how a video game is made from an idea and then marketed to a target audience. They also provided insider information about how we can utilize local opportunities nearby to achieve our goals. If I had not attended, I would never have known about Game Jam, where people get together and develop a game within two days to train their game development skills. And surprisingly, New York City is actually one of the biggest Game Jam places in the world.
During the discussion, the panel also shared with us information about their previous student life, tips for seeking jobs, and stories of how they ended up doing what they are doing right now. Their career stories were probably the most surprising part. For example, Wade Tinney, the CEO of Large Animal Games, first started as a bartender without any knowledge about game development. It was through a networking connection that he found himself interested in this particular industry and started building his own company from scratch. Other speakers shared similar experiences. You can click here if you are interested in what they talked about during the event.
I am sure you want to hear more about the other two events, right? The STEM Career Expo hosted at the New York Hotel on 9/20 hosted many Fortune 500 companies who had small information booths for students. The companies that I approached included Intel, Boeing, Prudential Financial and many more. These are examples of companies that you may not be able to see on campus at Baruch. If you are interested in the Microsoft event and their job opportunities, here is the link for the flyer and the Microsoft Academy for College Hires [MACH] Program that they mentioned at the event.
Of course you might ask “Where can we find these events?” The answer is pretty simple. First of all, check our STARR search website frequently for off-campus events that are listed under the event tag. The STEM Career Expo was actually listed there. Keep in mind that STARR Search is not just for on-campus events. Secondly, check out the Center for Communications website for their upcoming events. They have a lot of seminars about media, theater and technology related fields. If you are interested in any of them, don’t hesitate to sign up. The events are free. Finally, read your CUNY weekly newsletter. There are many great opportunities out there as long as you look for them. The Microsoft event was promoted in the CUNY newsletter! So spend some time researching and you will find something of interest to you. I wish you the best luck on your networking and job searching!
Here are some of the upcoming off-campus events that you might find useful. You can click the event to learn more and RSVP.
1. Sports Marketing: How to Win? October 22
2. Digital Advertising: What’s Next? October 29
3. New York Student Career Forum November 1st
4. Women Talk Tech: Starring Roles November 19