The Oakland Center’s upper floor held Oakland University’s annual Engineering and IT Career Fair on Oct. 3. The event ran from noon to 3 p.m. for students interested in the engineering, computer science, informational technology and management information systems fields.
“It’s amazing, There’s some [companies] that are looking for Co-Op internships, but I’m shocked by the amount that are actually hiring full-time,” Luc Taburet, a bioengineering student, said. “I do have one lined up already, but it’s a lot nicer knowing that every company I talk to is potentially something that could open another door for me,” Taburet said.
In the same fashion as the Fall Career Fair, students had the option to apply for an interview with select companies after networking at the event.
“Overall some of the companies seem pretty open to talking to you on the spot and kind of getting the gist of who you are and what you want,” Thomas Rowden, a mechanical engineering student, said. “Sitting down with the [Career and Life Design Center] folks really helped, they help out a lot here at Oakland University — shout out to them.”
The same office offered drop-in Career Studio workshops in which students are guided through the resume creation, handshake navigation and networking prep.
“Something I also put together alongside that is a portfolio,” Rowden said. “Simply putting in some of the projects and labs that you might have done inside of your classes, I think, is a great way to make yourself not the same person as everyone else.”
OU has planned multiple career fairs throughout the academic year to allow students from specific departments the chance to highlight what their studies look like after graduation.
“We have been working with them the entire month of September and they are all working hard to prepare and decide what employers they want to talk to,” Kelli Foskic, director of the School of Engineering and Computer Science Career and Life Design, said. “So, this is just a big celebration of all the hard work they have put in to get ready for today.”
A variety of engineering and systems firms populated the OC’s upper level. Atomic Object, Siemens and MAGNA shared rooms with Atlas Copco, MacLean-Fogg and Corwell Health.
“We have a list of companies who have attended our career fairs over the years,” Foskic said. “So, every year … we send out all the invites, so the same companies are invited.”
The Engineering Career Fair has developed a long-established roster of companies due to many of them choosing to return to OU after attending a few times before.
“I’m all about networking,” Luis Gomez, an electrical engineering student, said. “Trying to get those connections going, you never know who you’re going to bump into later on.”
“I will say maybe nursing and other departments also deserve another career fair but as it is right now, I think all the big schools deserve one specific career fair,” Gomez said after highlighting how helpful the event proved to be in his field.
Students and recruiters alike highlighted the importance and benefits of networking events from their perspectives.
“We definitely benefit from getting interns and full-time employees from these events,” Rachael Klawanf, a MacLean-Fogg recruiter, said. “We also benefit by just understanding what students are looking for and what they want in their future careers.”
The benefits don’t end there. “We always try to improve ourselves as a company,” Klawanf said. “So, we always want to make sure that we’re kind of acclimating to what the students want as well as getting to know them and understanding what Oakland students can provide.”
“They’ve been all incredibly ready and prepared, which we appreciate. We’ve had dozens and dozens of conversations with students who seem excited about all these opportunities.” Nick Stauffer, a MacLean-Fogg recruiter, said to describe OU students. “We go to a lot of career fairs, and so far, I’ll say this is in our top three. We’ve really enjoyed our time at Oakland.”
