Professionally-dressed students armed with their résumés flocked to the ninth floor of 73 Tremont last Thursday to attend the Summer Co-op and Internship Fair sponsored by the University’s Career Services and Cooperative Education Office.
The employers were there looking to meet with students to talk about summer co-ops and internships,” said Paul Tanklefsky, director of Career Services and Co-op Education. “It was a great opportunity to start engaging with employers and start delivering the students’ message to employers, their ‘30-second elevator pitch,’ and make contacts, and then follow-up with those employers.” Over 400 students attended the event to explore job options from 48 employers. They were provided with plenty of options for both summer and cooperative employment. The open positions for both internships and regular employment included real estate agents, research analyst interns, beauty consultants, and census workers among numerous others. There were opportunities available for any major and the fair included both paid and unpaid internships as well as standard job opportunities.
“Every student here should, before they graduate, be able to secure at least one internship or co-op,” said Tanklefsky. “It does a variety of things like nothing else. One, it helps refine your career interests. Two, it gives you real experience. Three, marketable skills that employers value. Four, it provides you with a professional readiness, having worked in the work place and had that kind of exposure. Five, it establishes a ready-made network for you to capitalize on through your employers and fellow coworkers.”
Students were greeted at the door with an Employer Fact Sheet that provided them with basic knowledge about the employers in attendance, letting them decide which booths to visit and giving them time to prepare their introductions to potential employers.
“If you’re looking for competitive advantage, that comes through,” Tanklefsky said. “It allows our students to compete,and compete successfully, for career opportunities.”
Tanklefsky said he encourages both students who attended as well as those who didn’t to set up an appointment with the co-op internship counselors.
“We’re getting postings every day,” he added. “There are still a lot of opportunities, we can help get them started.”
