Winter weather reduced both student and employer turnout at the 2004 Internship/Summer Job Event held Friday in the Office of Career Services, according to event organizers.
Office of Career Services director Richard Leger, the event’s co-organizer, said 20 companies were registered to set up booths, but snow caused a few organizations to cancel.
“This year there are fewer booths than last year, and that seems to be true with other schools, many of which aren’t even running internship fairs,” he said. “What attracts these companies to BU is the quality of the students and because many have had success in the past with them.”
Companies and organizations from various fields talked to students about available internships and jobs over the summer, most of which are paid. Some companies came from places outside of Boston, as far away as California.
Assistant Director of Career Services and co-organizer Deborah Halliday said about 150 students attended the event.
“The turnout was much lower than our previous Internship Summer Job fairs, but is fairly decent in terms of the employer-to-student ratio,” she said. “We do find that the more employers registered, the higher the student turnout.”
Halliday said employers appreciated the dedication Boston University students take in their desire to gain job experience through internships.
“We always get very positive feedback on the quality and preparedness of BU students, and that is shown by the fact that employers come back year after year,” she said.
The attendees, the majority of which were sophomores and juniors, have an advantage over students from other Boston-area colleges, Leger said. One government agency, which could not come last year because of budget cuts, always recruited BU students well.
“One of our very successful employers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, comes twice a year to BU and hires a greater proportion of BU students than students in surrounding schools,” he said.
The bureau’s problems were the product of a tough economy, Ledger said, and he believes that may be why there were fewer booths this year than last. He said he expects more companies to show at the Career Fair next month.
Companies like educational publisher Pearson Education, which had about 22 interns in Boston last summer – some of which were BU students – came to the event to recruit students, company representative Elizabeth Egan said.
Students came looking for a number of different things for their summer jobs. School of Management freshman Megan Reed said location is a major factor she looks at in selecting a summer job.
“This summer, I’d like to do something that I haven’t done before, preferably not in Boston,” she said. “For me location is a big factor, but so is the experience. Obviously pay would be too.”
Employers said they look for certain things too. Glaceau VitaminWater Brand Manager Greg Waddell said he likes BU students’ enthusiasm.
“We want BU students because they’re the most outgoing, and we want fun kids to express the passion of the brand,” he said.
CAS senior Igor Kheyfets said he came to see if any of the employers interested him.
“I’m still undecided whether I want a full-time job or an internship over the summer,” he said. “If I find something that’s unpaid and that’s right up my alley, I’ll just do it for the experience.”
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Evenna Liu said no employers in her field of study were present, but she still considered other options.
“I’m thinking of doing an internship in the medical field and work in a hospital or doctor’s office – or something along those lines,” she said.
Many students said they learned of the event by email or flyers distributed throughout the dorms. Leger said the Office of Career Services plans to advertise even more for the Career Expo to be held on March 30.