Fairfield University is hosting its annual Career Fair today in the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex from noon to 3 p.m., bringing together students from across the Meditz College of Arts and Sciences, the Dolan School of Business and the School of Engineering and Computing. The event features representatives from over a dozen companies, including 11 accounting firms. A strong showing for students interested in finance, business and analytics.
Yet despite the range of employment opportunities, not all students plan to attend.
“I don’t plan on going to the career fair tomorrow because there are no entertainment media/production companies that are interesting to me.,” said Film, Television and Media Arts major, junior Shea Burns. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of representation for a precise field such as media production.”
Steph Gallo, Director of Career Planning for the College of Arts and Sciences leads career and professional development for over 1,000 Meditz CAS students. She recognizes a trend: While the Career Fair attendance has improved in recent years, many students, particularly those in Meditz School of Arts and Sciences, still opt out.
“I actually think that it’s more of an issue with Meditz students not having an open mind about opportunities or companies than anything else,” said Gallo. “There are actually tons of great internships and opportunities that come from the career fair, but the name brand is what Meditz/CAS students really tend to focus on. For better or for worse.”
Students with media, communication or entertainment aspirations often express frustration that companies like NBCUniversal, ESPN or major PR firms aren’t present at the fair. According to Gallo there’s a reason.
“The truth is that the ‘cooler’ or more well-known the brand, the less they need to actively recruit through college career fairs at smaller institutions,” she explained. “These organizations receive thousands of applications from across the country and often focus their on-campus recruiting at a small number of target schools (think Syracuse, NYU). That doesn’t mean Fairfield students can’t get in, it just means they don’t tend to recruit through career fairs.”
Some students, like junior Psychology major, Caitlyn Shanley, understand the value of attending regardless of the industry.
“I found my internship last summer through the career fair and it was a phenomenal experience,” said Shanley. “I’m truly glad I went!”
Still not all students feel the fair fits their goals. Aida Ehlers, a sophomore Philosophy major said, “I will not be going to the Career Fair. As a pre-law Fairfield student I know there will be slim to no internship opportunities related to my field.”
Gabbriella Febbraio, a pre-education English major, shared. “I’m not going this year because I already have a job that correlates to my field of study.”
Sophomores in Fairfield’s Sophomore Success program, which offers funding for unpaid internships are also skipping out, despite the unique support they receive.
“For companies to come to the career fair, the students have to go to the career fair,” she said. “We do struggle with getting Meditz CAS students to actually show up. The numbers have gotten better over the years, especially since we created a dedicated career center within the College of Arts and Sciences, but there’s still work to do.”
The decision to host a combined fair for all three schools is deliberate, Gallo added. Employers today are often looking for skills, not just specific majors.
“For example, the FBI, which is attending this year, loves our Meditz students, but they also hire business and engineering majors,” Gallo said. “A nonprofit might recruit for both marketing and counseling positions, or a healthcare company might have roles for analysts and communications interns. If we separated the fairs, we’d risk losing those employers entirely.”
The career fair remains one of many tools available to Fairfield students navigating internships and job searches.
