More students should take advantage of nonprofit and career fairs
Jobs and internships usually require some amount of work experience, but to get the experience, one needs to first get a job or internship. It’s a Catch-22 that most students and new graduates entering the work force know all too well.
In Portland’s particularly tough economy, students need all of the help they can get. In order for students to support themselves today, they need to start thinking about their careers while they are still in school.
The Portland State Career Center assists people in finding work both as students here and after they graduate. In order to help as many students as possible, the Career Center hosts career fairs. The Career and Internship Fair, held on Oct. 24, and the Nonprofit Career Fair, held on Nov. 1, proved to be useful opportunities for students and graduates to network with companies and even find jobs and internships.
The companies with tables at the fairs either had openings for jobs or knew they would have openings in the spring or summer. There were opportunities between the two fairs to find jobs, internships or volunteer opportunities in a variety of fields.
Several students who attended the Career and Internship Fair said that attending and talking to representatives from various companies helped them significantly. However, the state of the economy scares many of them. Many students are worried about not finding jobs when they graduate because potential employers are looking only for people who have already been in the workplace.
“If I had experience, I wouldn’t be having such a hard time,” remarked one recent graduate who had been looking for a job since graduating a year ago. Up until the fair, she had not gotten any interviews. After getting an interview with a representative from one of the companies there, however, she was thrilled at having gotten a chance at a job simply from attending the fair.
An entirely different crowd was present at the Nonprofit Career Fair. While the companies present at the Career and Internship Fair were mostly banks and corporations looking to hire for business or technology-related positions, the companies at the Nonprofit Career Fair were looking both for internships and for volunteer positions in a variety of fields. Students interested in anything from teaching to politics could find an internship or volunteer opportunity of interest to them.
The students at the Nonprofit Career Fair had motivations completely different than the motivations of the students who attended the Career and Internship Fair the previous week. While the students at the Career and Internship Fair were worried about not finding jobs, the students at the Nonprofit Career Fair were interested in volunteer opportunities, or simply finding out what nonprofit organizations are in the Portland area.
Students agree that networking is important in today’s business world. Though the state of the economy is what drives so many students to go back to school, either for a second degree or for a more advanced degree, many of the students at the Nonprofit Career Fair are not as worried about finding jobs. Many students were at the fair because volunteering is a good way to be social, or because it is possible to find connections through volunteering.
Some of them attended the fair simply because they were new to the Portland area and wanted to get involved in something. Another common reason for attending was to find work with an organization that has the goal of helping people instead of having money in mind.
Though the Career and Internship Fair had a much larger turnout than the Nonprofit Career Fair, both fairs were successful. The students at both fairs were able to find what they were looking for, whether it was a paid job or another kind of experience.
And really, this was the goal. More students should take advantage of the opportunities the school makes for them to get their foot in the door. Networking and experience are part and parcel of the business world, and chances to get both squared away before graduation are too valuable to pass up.
So next time the school hosts an event like this, students need to take heed. Go to the fair. Get some business cards, shake some hands and maybe commit to a few hours of volunteering every week. It can only really benefit students in the long term.
