Posted by Huiqiang Zhao on
Thursday, April 29, 2010
How to find a job/internship in a tough economy?
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 80% of all jobs are filled through personal contacts. Attending Career Expo helps you build those contacts by meeting employers and agency representatives while you learn more about your career options. On 4/20/2010, SU Career Services Center hosted its annual Career Expo. Over 20 employers from Puget Sound and some government agencies came to school and talked to current students and alumni about the current job market and their companies. A couple of my classmates and I were there to make personal contact with employers.
I had the opportunity to talk with the representatives from Paccar and Expeditors. The good news was both of them said that the job market would be getting better by the end of this year. I think this is very encouraging. For example, Mellisa said Expeditors had 10 summer intern openings and half of them were already filled. She also mentioned that in Expeditors, an internship can lead to a full time position upon graduation if the interns are fully committed to their work.
In summary, events such as the Career Expo give you unparalleled opportunities to talk to representatives from organizations across a wide range of sectors in one day. With the graduation approaching, we will see more new graduates looking for jobs. In my opinion, the person who goes to different career fairs and networks consistently will be the first one who gets a job.
Writen by Derek Zhao, zhaoh@seattleu.edu