Melissa Hanson  Asst. News Editor

Career Service’s “Career Fest 2012” will take place from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1.  The tag line of the event is: “Nine days, 20 Events, Enhanced Career Smarts.”

“Our goal in the event is …to focus on career aspirations of our students,” said Director of Career Services and Cooperative Education, Paul Tanklefsky.  He says the point of the event is to give students “resources, tools, and smarts” so they can successfully compete in the job market, especially since the recession.

Career Fest, previously called “Career Week,” has been an annual event for over 25 years.  The name change was in order to “bolden the week,” according to Tanklefsky.

“We wanted a variety of career stuff in a week to capture the attention and interest of the Suffolk community,” he said.  One of the events Career Services is most excited for is the kickoff event, the dream share wall, which began on Monday.  In the Sawyer lounge, a canvas was hung up for students to write their aspirations, tips, and advice on.  Tanklefsky also hopes professors will write tips on the wall.

Two other events that are significant in this year’s Career Fest are the dream share documentary and the LinkedIn photo shoot.  The documentary follows college students as they find their dream careers and will be shown on Thursday Oct. 25 by the dream share team, who will be available for conversation after the movie airs.  The LinkedIn photo shoot on Wednesday, Oct. 24 will feature a professional photographer to take headshots of students who plan to use the website as a resource in finding employment.

There will be numerous speakers throughout Career Fest.  Roger Berkowitz of Legal Seafoods, also a Suffolk trustee, was the Keynote Address this year.  On Monday, he spoke about how companies and “evolve or dissolve.”  Anne Allred and Adam Williams from WHDH/7 NEWS will speak on broadcast journalism.  Mike Volpe, the Chief Marketing Officer of Hubspot will speak about marketing.

“I think we’re excited about the whole week,” said Tanklefsky, who would like to see every event reach its full capacity.  He anticipates that over 1,000 students will participate in at least one event.  He finds that the events cater to all undergraduate students, and even some graduates.

Faculty will be present at the majors and minors expo, which is geared for freshmen and sophomores, says Tanklefsky.  He anticipates that over 400 students will be present at this event alone.  Aside from a faculty member from each department, there will be graduate students and members of Career Services present to aid students in choosing majors and minors.

Career Fest is in the fall because Tanklefsky sees it is a time for students to look into career options, whereas in the spring students are typically searching and applying for jobs.

Career Fest typically receives positive feedback, according to Tanklefsky.

“We always want [students] to walk away smarter and savvier,” he said.

Tanklefsky also wants students to know that although Career Fest is just one week each year, Career Services is open all year and has counselors willing to meet with and help students.

“We encourage students to be mindful, even though this is a 10-day career fest, our offices are always open to help.”