Collegiate Times

After celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the Business Horizons fall career fair in 2012, the companies asked that there be a spring one as well.

The first annual Spring Business Horizons Career Fair will be Feb. 18 from 1 to 6 pm in Cassel Coliseum. 

There is a waiting list for companies to participate; Cassel has been mapped out to host close to 100 booths, no registration is required and there will be shuttles from the Chicken Hill Parking lot to the fair. What else could business students ask for?

Jordan Jacobson, a junior marketing and management

and psychology major and the public relations officer for the fair, said having Business Horizons in the spring will benefit students who needed more time after the fall fair to decide what they want to do in the future.

Though Business Horizons is geared more toward business majors, some of the companies are also looking for other majors as well. The list of companies and the majors they are most interested in are on the fair’s website businesshorizons.org.

Researching the companies that will be there and having questions for the ones you are interested in are critical preparations for attending a fair, Jacobson said.

It may be a good idea to have your schedule for the following day open for last minute interviews, also.

“Some of the companies have already reserved rooms for the next day for interviews, so make sure you’re prepared, if you get an interview, for some of the questions you might get asked,” Jacobson said.

Pamplin has a 72 placement placement rate for its graduates, which Jacobson said is due to the dedicated network of faculty who stay connected with business leaders and help students have the resources they need to land a job.

Stuart Mease, director of undergraduate career services for the Pamplin College of Business, said its primary jobs are to educate students about the market and their market value, provide ways for them to connect to the marketand show them how to navigate the market.

Pamplin’s Career Services also organizes information sessions and programs to help business students prepare for their steps towards a career. Mease said Business Horizons is the Super Bowl of events, which everyone attends.

The fall 2012 Business Horizons career fair hosted 160 employers, about 500 company representatives and around 2,500 career seeking students.

Emily Africa, diversity recruitment and career advancement coordinator for the Pamplin College of Business Career Services, was a recruiter for her previous job with Tech Systems at the Business Horizons fair. She advises, like Jacobson, for students to be knowledgeable of the companies they plan on meeting with.

“The best thing to hear is a student who knows about your company and knows what you’re looking for and can tell you why they would be a great fit,” Africa said. “My biggest advice for students, though, is to always ask for a business card, so you can follow up with recruiters.”

One aspect that can calm students’ nerves when attending Business Horizons is that many of the recruiters are Tech alumni.

“The employer wants to bring the recent graduate back, because they probably have contacts with students,” Mease said. “They’re hoping that the young alum will create some buzz around their booth.”

Africa also said she was sent as a recruiter fresh out of training so she could explain to students what to expect and how to prepare for the positions they may be chosen for.

Though Pamplin’s Career Services is very involved and sponsors the Business Horizons, the majority of the fair’s organization is done by a group of undergraduate business students.

Anna Lonker, a junior marketing and managing major and the Business Horizons leader

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 15 issue of the Collegiate Times.