Spring career fairs can lead students to internships and full-time jobs

As a University of North Georgia (UNG) alumna, Lisa Redding knows the caliber of students produced thanks to the high-quality education offered at the school. Therefore, she always carves out time to attend UNG's career and job fairs as the recruiting manager for Surgical Information Systems in Alpharetta.

"We have hired a number of students from the career fair," Redding said. "I have five people who are UNG alumni. Some started out as interns and were hired full-time. Others we hired right after graduation as full-time employees."

This story is not a new one for UNG. Don Dorsey, talent acquisition specialist for Enterprise Rent-A-Car for the North Region of Atlanta, said several UNG alumni work for the national car rental company. UNG students also intern for the summer at Enterprise and compete for scholarship money based on their performance.

"This year, the No. 1 and No. 3 interns for the Atlanta group, Levi Johnson and Josh Martin, were from UNG," Dorsey said, adding both landed a full-time position with the company after graduation.

Dorsey and Redding plan to attend the UNG Sales, Ops and Tech Career Fair, scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the multipurpose rooms of the Convocation Center on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. All UNG students may attend any and all career fairs across all campuses.

Diane Farrell, director of career services at UNG, said a couple of fairs were changed last year to funnel students to a more industry-focused group of employers and vice versa.

"A lot of students are confused about general job fairs," she said. "With the Sales, Ops and Tech fair, students are likely to find opportunities in sales, which are plentiful after graduation."

Business recruiters also benefited from the new name. Redding said she spoke to more students interested in the technical fields.

"If you have a career fair that says science and technology, students who have the mindset to do something with technology and healthcare will come to it. Then recruiters will have a higher success rate," she said.

University of North Georgia students may meet with several company representatives from across the region during different career and job fairs this spring.

Another newly named fair, the Liberal Arts and Humanities Career Showcase, was Feb. 6 in Dahlonega. It featured employers interested in students pursuing degrees in music, visual arts, theater, history, literature, and philosophy.

"Based on student evaluations, 100 percent agreed or strongly agreed they 'met at least one employer that interested me,'" Farrell said. "Most employers indicated they plan to follow up with the students they met."

The Student-Athlete and Cadet Career Fair will be 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in the Convocation Center. Farrell explained this evening option is specifically for athletes and cadets who may be unable to attend the daytime fairs because of prior commitments such as drills, games and practices.

Fairs also are planned for Gainesville and Oconee campuses and the Mike and Lynn Cottrell Junior Achievement Discovery Center at North Georgia in Cumming, Georgia, will host a teacher recruitment fair.

Farrell said students can discover the businesses set to attend each fair through Handshake, a website that connects students, career centers and recruiters. She added students should prepare for the job fairs ahead of time: research the companies in which they are interested, bring copies of a professional resume and dress appropriately.

Redding agreed.

"There is nothing I hate more than when someone comes up to me wearing sweatpants with their earbuds in and says, 'What does your company do?'" she said. "If you are interested in a company, at the very least take a look at the website."