By Arisleydi Garcia. Special contributions from Camille Hall, Adia Tucker, and Ruixiang Wu.
Last Fall, 400 students attended the CPA Fair hosted in the Gym. This year the Fair was hosted in the 14th Floor Conference room since the gym was unavailable. The number of student participants increased to 564 students, with 337 representing the undergraduate population here at Baruch. Only 65% of undergraduate students who attended the Fair were majoring in Accounting. In addition, the number of male and female undergraduate students who attended the Fair was relatively close, with 155 females and 173 males.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what exactly took place at the Fair. The simplest answer: networking, networking, networking. A variety of top firms and midsize firms attended the Fair totaling to a representation of 29 companies.
Many firms brought several representatives to the Fair, allowing students the chance to interact with more than one recruiter per company. Students also had a chance to be photographed for their LinkedIn profile picture. When asked to give feedback on the Fair, a few students stated the following:
- “I get to know people in the company I’m interested in. I get to connect with them in a personal level.” – Fahmidha Islam
- “It’s very helpful. You get very important information from recruiters. They tell you all about their internships, training programs, what year they want you to start – mostly juniors for the internships. But if you’re young and want more networking experience, you should come to this fair.” – Lishan Li
Recruiters provided anonymous tips on how to network. Here is what they had to say:
- “Depending on the company there may be certain guidelines on how to follow up. However, a good way to connect would be to reach out via LinkedIn. Following up makes a huge difference after a career fair.”
- “Be yourself! Try not to get to nervous. Bring up different things outside of the norm in small talk discussions. For example, share a little bit about a past experience or how you got to Baruch College.”
- “Have experience and I don’t mean just work experience. Experience includes a varied educational background.”
Lastly, we also spoke to Dr. Patricia Imbimbo, the Director of The Starr Career Development Center, about her perspective on the Fair. Dr. Imbimbo said:
- “I would like to commend all the Baruch students in attendance at the CPA Fair on Friday September 27th for their good conduct and manners. They behaved in a mature and professional manner when asked to leave at 2pm to make room for other students.The students waiting in line, sometimes for an hour or more, also remained polite and understanding until they were admitted. It was a testament to the civility of Baruch students and we were all impressed with their behavior.”
All in all, the Fall 2013 CPA Fair was a hugely successful event for Baruch students and recruiters alike. Baruch undergraduates will have another opportunity to network with professionals, gain valuable information, and polish their personal pitches at this week’s Career Day, which will be held on Friday, October 4th from noon to 4:00 in the gymnasium. The recruiters at Career Day will represent a variety of career fields and they will be looking for budding professionals from ALL majors, so get your résumés and your formal business attire ready! The Starr Career Development Center looks forward to hosting another successful job fair on Friday and getting your feedback on the event.
Good luck!
