Kent State students and alumni dressed in their cleanest business attire, armed with copies of resumes and cover letters to visit about 130 employers at the university’s Job and Internship Fair Wednesday.

The fair offered students and alumni the chance to meet face-to-face with hiring companies.

Robin Pijor, assistant director of the Career Services Center, said the fair has a large turnout of seniors and alumni, but all students are encouraged to attend. She said that the event had a “very good vibe,” as most students appeared prepared and employers looked excited to talk to the students.

“I have seen a high number of [students] have already done their homework,” Pijor said. “They made a list of employers that they want to talk to. They researched the websites, that is an excellent thing for us to see.”

Kellie Russ, a recent alumna, attended the event to look for positions relevant to her degree in economics.

“I think it has been one of the better ones, at least for my major, compared to last year,” Russ said. “At this point, I am kind of looking for anything that sounds interesting to me, [and] to take the next step from my job right now to a career.”

In addition to job scouting, some students went to land summer internships. Alexandra Johnson, senior fashion merchandising major, said that she has had an internship before, but it did not count for class credit, so she attended the event in hopes of finding another summer internship. She said the fair seemed to have a large number of business majors in attendance.

“Overall, it is not bad,” Johnson said. “I think there could be more diversity of majors represented here. It seems very business oriented.”

Apple Inc., Nestle Inc. and the FBI were just a couple of the companies who talked to students. Jill Bentley, an employee services specialist with Coldwater Creek, said that the company felt that Kent State offered quality candidates.

“Our CEO is originally from Ohio, and she recommended it because of the great design and merchandising program [at Kent State],” Bentley said. “So far, the traffic has been pretty good.”

Bentley said that Coldwater Creek had many internship opportunities for students, and that the fair presented potential candidates.

“We have a very wide range [of internship opportunities],” Bentley said. “Definitely people that I think I will call back.”

Ryan McNaughton, a career counselor with the Career Services Center said that the large turnout at the beginning of the event was positive. He said employers left the event with positive reviews of attendees.

“They came away impressed with their level of professionalism,” McNaughton said. “[Students] were dressed well. They asked the right questions. Those were some of the things that the surveys in the fall showed that students were struggling with.”

An estimated 700 students attended the Fall Job and Internship Fair, McNaughton said. But traditionally the Spring Fair has a larger attendance.

McNaughton said that companies that attended the fair begin follow-up interviews with students as early as tomorrow. Students who were unable to attend the event can contact the Career Services Center if they want

Contact Megan Corder at [email protected].