As the USC Recent Graduates and Students Career Fair kicked off on a cloudy Thursday morning, hundreds of eager students and recent graduates flooded Trousdale Parkway. Hopes of making a good impression on employers were high.
With tables organized alphabetically by organization name, students had no trouble finding their desired employers and using their best practices to succeed.
“I heard about the career fair through connectSC and I was looking at positions over the upcoming summer,” said Angus Carre, a senior who is majoring in philosophy, politics and law. “So I kind of just put two and two together and came out here, put my resume to as many companies as possible.”
According to a recent university survey of USC students, career fairs are their top preferred recruiting event. A variety of industries have seen layoffs in the last year, like the tech industry, have made students uneasy about what their prospects are like after graduation. Forbes predicts that as a result of the layoffs, other corporations will want to pull the now available and new talent. These events, though, give students face-to-face interactions with employees to grab such opportunities.
Even though this event is so close to the summer, many of the companies attending still have to fill many of their positions. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), was one such company.
“We are looking to fill a lot of our summer internships, actually,” said Hailey Luscher, a recruiter from HACLA. “So we’re looking for students that want to help the community and help enhance the affordable housing mission in Los Angeles.”
The Career Fair featured a diverse range of employers from different industries, including Fortune 500s, non-profits, government agencies and start-ups. Representatives from these organizations were keen on meeting talented students and recent graduates and giving them insights into their companies and job opportunities.
“I think everyone is aware of how prestigious USC is and what a good track record they have of people in the economy,” said Tom Watkins from Centennial Advisers. “So we wanted to have a presence here and see if we could make some good connections.”
Not only do these companies want to make connections with prospective interns and employees, but see who is cut out for that line of industry. Many of the employers said they were looking for very specific qualities at the Career Fair.
“I think more so that they’re just passionate about what our agency is doing, trying to enhance that mission,” Luscher said. “You just want people that would like to help the community.”
Many of the students saw the passion these employers were exhibiting as they were hearing from different companies along Trousdale.
“One of the things that’s tough is that when you go to stuff like this, you learn so much and people are so passionate about what they do,” said Bradley Frye, a graduate student in marketing. “And when you hear that passion, it makes it kind of tough to not feel passionate about it, like for the company or industry.”
According to Frye, passion alone isn’t enough for a successful career path. Having the right mindset, one can narrow things down and figure out what they want their career to look like once they leave USC.
Even the best degree from a high-ranking university will only go so far. Finding the right position in a modern job market is a challenge, one that requires good networking.
“I think the career fair is very important. It’s about shots on goal, not goals scored,” Carre said. “The job search is basically throwing everything on the wall and seeing what sticks. So things like these are really important.”