Day 24: Career Fair galore

I wonder if it was a sign from the heavens that the weather was ABSOLUTELY pissing down during the career fair on campus today. Quite a few of the representatives from the various companies ended up being held up in heavy traffic due to the inclement weather. You could tell that the students milling around the foyer were getting really anxious as the clock ticked by and the empty booths stared back at them

As usual, a couple of more well known companies really dominated the fair, leaving some of the lesser known companies to fight it out for share of attention. That being said, I wonder if a career fair is the best way for a company to really sell itself to graduating students. I find that the on campus presentations tend to leave a more lasting impact and really allow the company to showcase its achievements and opportunities. Often at a career fair, you only really have the chance to talk very briefly about the opportunities without really being able to sell the rest of the company. I understand the rationale that the campus presentations often require a much larger commitment in terms of people and resources and companies may not be able to make that commitment (especially smaller ones). But I think that making the effort really makes a difference in terms of the impression that is formed.

I can't say that I was particularly blown away by any of the participants at the booths at the career fair today but at least I got to learn more about some of the potential opportunities out there. I figured it doesn't hurt to at least get to know more companies and understand what they do. Most of the really large companies either have their own separate campus presentations or they just know you'll apply anyway to skip on campus recruiting altogether.

That being said, I'm only in P1 so the career fair wasn't really aimed at me but at the batch above me. You could see a lot of them milling around anxiously trying to get "air-time" with the right people at various company booths. It's that tense time now when everyone's pacing up and down in suits practicing in their mind what they are going to say in that interview.

My time will come...