The Division of Career Pathways (DCP) at UCI held a Virtual STEM Career Fair for students to meet with employers from large corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, develop networking skills within their field of interest and receive potential job opportunities on Oct. 14.
DCP hosts four career fairs throughout the school year — at least once per quarter — with the goal of connecting undergraduate students with internship and career opportunities. Several companies are invited from around the country to network with students and encourage them to join their organizations.
This year’s fair was hosted through Handshake, UCI’s all-inclusive, comprehensive career services platform that is accessible year-round. The platform allows UCI students to discover current job openings within a desired field and location. Handshake connects students with employers of large organizations.
At this year’s STEM Virtual Career Fair, students met with employers from companies such as CoStar Group, a real estate technology company based in Washington D.C., in one-on-one or group sessions. These sessions allowed students to speak directly with hiring managers, go over resumes and have brief interviews with companies of interest. In group sessions, students asked questions to hiring managers and networked with other representatives from the companies.
Each student had equal access to joining sessions of interest, as there were no capacity limitations for the online fair. After students registered for sessions, Handshake automatically created a succinct schedule for them to follow, including links to the video conferences.
GradLeaders, a network designed to connect students with employment opportunities, acknowledged the impact of virtual career fairs. GradLeaders found that virtual fairs result in greater participation turnout due to the ease of accessing meetings regardless of location. They also found that students felt more relaxed and prepared in a virtual setting when speaking with hiring managers and representatives of companies, ultimately resulting in better hiring outcomes.
DCP will be hosting an Internship and Career Virtual Fair on Jan. 20, 2022. More information about DCP and future events can be found on their website.
Esha Sashil Chandra is a STEM Staff Writer for the 2021-22 school year. She can be reached at eschandr@uci.edu.