Employers attend job fair in record numbers, students enthusiastic about job prospects

About 90 employers came to Portland State on Tuesday to recruit students at the Fall Career and Internship Fair, held in the Smith Memorial Student Union ballroom.

The fair drew the biggest turnout of employers since the economic boom of the early 2000s, a sign that the job market is coming back, said Greg Flores, associate director of Career Services.

“We’ve never filled up this far in advance before,” Flores said. “I think it shows employers are hiring earlier and are more confident in their job projections.”

About 80 employers came to last year’s fall fair. While the exact number of students who attended isn’t known, organizers said the event was well-attended and students were enthusiastic about the job prospects.

Several features were added to the fair this term, said Mary Ann Barham, director of Advising and Career Services. Students were able to have a free, professional-quality headshot photo taken for their application packets.

“We had great response for that,” Barham said.

Additionally, students were able to get training on how to get the most benefit from websites like LinkedIn—another hit, Barham said. Both activities will likely be added to the regular roster for future career fairs, she added.

Career fairs for all majors are held every term, and more specialized fairs are often added to highlight specific disciplines. A nonprofit fair, for instance, will be held on Friday, Nov. 9. An engineering and technology fair is slated for winter term, back-to-back with another all-majors career fair.

Recruiters this year include Skanska, Cambia Health Solutions, Intel and Boeing. About half of the job openings are in engineering and technology, but some private, public and nonprofit employers want to hire students with a variety of majors.