The Penn State Behrend Spring Career and Internship Fair brought students in search of future opportunities to the Junker Center from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday to discuss job, internship and career information with more than 1,200 candidates.

​

The wide range of companies in attendance came from Behrend and other colleges and universities in the area, as well as other multinational conglomerate corporations like Honda. Students were given ample opportunities to be recruited for internships, co-op, part-time/summer positions and full-time careers.

​

A returning career fair-goer, Christian Gayton, senior industrial engineering major, is in search of a full-time position after graduation in May. Gayton met with candidates from Honda and Nord-Lock, along with several other companies.

​

“A lot of companies are flexible, and even if you’re not what they are looking for specifically, sometimes they will open up and take you,” Gayton said. “I feel like there’s a lot of opportunities regardless of the amount of times you come back.”

​

Based on previous career fairs, students who branch from STEM majors have received significant responses and feedback from potential candidates. Amanda Donahue, senior marketing and management information systems major, attended the career fair for the fifth time since coming to Behrend. Here she received a marketing internship two years ago for the Erie Bayhawks.

​

“There’s always a lot of companies, and with my major, there’s always a lot of options to choose from,” said Donahue.

​

In comparison, students from other majors have taken a different approach in regards to attending the career fair.

​

Taylor Powell, senior creative writing major with a minor in English, has attended the career fair since her freshman year. In her past experiences while attending the fair, Powell has learned that looks can be deceiving.

​

“In my years of attending the career fair, it always appears that there are more companies geared towards STEM majors, and not specifically humanities,” Powell said. “However, I have found that the companies names and appearances does not always mean they are looking for only STEM majors. Sometimes, they are also looking for students within the humanities.”

​

In order to appeal to more non-STEM majors, Powell suggests to spread the word that there are companies looking for other majors and encourage non-STEM majors to attend. In return, more companies geared towards non-STEM majors will attend in search for students with other skills.

​

Powell has had exceptional luck with job searching. While attending the fall 2017 career fair, Powell approached a company table that no one else was at. From there, Powell said the woman from the company was pleased to hear she was a humanities major and that she was specifically looking for someone in her major. However, Powell wasn’t so lucky at first, as she faced many challenges in the past searching for a company interested in her skills.

“Many companies have turned me away because they were looking for STEM majors, but this does not mean that I stopped searching and didn't succeed in finding some that did,” Powell added.

Josh Mester, a junior communication and media studies major, was on a search for an internship Thursday, but his luck ran short.

“I had a little luck. I didn't get an interview or an internship, but I submitted a couple resumes showing my experience that is qualified for the internship I am looking for,” said Mester.

​

Mester shared his input on the lack of opportunity for non-STEM majors at the career fair, as he stated that the majority of companies search for business, engineering and technology majors, which makes the career fair experience less productive for non-STEM majors.

​

“Non-STEM majors can be more recognized at these events by reaching out to more firms in the community that are looking for communication majors, DIGIT majors and other humanities/social science majors,” Mester added. “This can include reaching out to the filmmaking affairs in Erie.”

​

Frank Hall, senior industrial engineering with a supply chain management minor, has examined the imbalance of majors at the career fair based on the full and empty tables.

​

“Definitely,” Hall responded. “Just looking at the gym, specifically the left side, where most humanities-geared companies are, is deserted,” Hall said. “The right side, which has more STEM-geared companies, has crowds of people.” Hall added the few companies he saw at the fair that appealed to non-STEM majors, including Asbury Woods and Discover Presque Isle.

​

“Non-STEM majors are just as important as engineers,” Donahue added. “They also need jobs and internships, but I think the word should be put out there so there’s more companies that come here for all students.”

​

While underclassman familiarize their options at the career fair, seniors wrap up their final semester and prepare for their future ahead, utilizing the career fair as a primary resource through either trial-and-error methods of exploration or through discovering opportunities that suit their skills and interests.