On Thursday, Feb. 19, UNI will be hosting it’s semi-annual Career Fair. The Career Fair is a time where over 100 employers and graduate schools come here to talk to students. They talk about jobs after graduation, internships during the spring or summer or they recruit students for a grad program.     I did not go to the career fair my Freshman and Sophomore years at UNI. There were two reasons for this. The first reason is the same as many young students; I simply felt that I did not need to go. I was going to be in school for four years, so why spend two of those looking for a job that would not have any opportunity to hire me without a degree? 

The second reason for not going to the career fair was because of my field of study. I have a major in political science with minors in Philosophy and Ethics. I distinctly remember hearing, and still hear, the charge that the career fair is only for those with business majors. That I would not be able to adequately advertise myself with my field of study. That employers would automatically roll their eyes when I say “Hello, my name is Eric Boisen, and I am a political science major.”

Granted, the career fair does have many employers that are looking for business majors. When your university has an outstanding business school, employers are going to look for those majors. Also, I have had employers shrug me off when I tell them my major. But for every employer who has told me “we aren’t looking for anyone from that major,” I have talked to two employers in a career that does not directly correlate to the degree they received in college. 

If you go to the career fair and let your major define you, then you are doing it wrong. Your major is important, but you are more than a major. The career fair is about helping you sell yourself to employers, to use your experiences in college and show employers how you can succeed at their company. 

As I said above, the career fair does not just have post-grad opportunities. The career fair has many internships that are designed for students to gain experiences. They can then use those experiences to get a job after graduation. If you are looking for an internship as a freshman or sophomore, go to the career fair. 

I would encourage everyone, regardless of year in school or major to attend the career fair. As a first or second year student, you should go to: 1) See how it works for when you will be looking for jobs. 2) Look at possible summer internships (going home for the summer is overrated). 3) Look and see what companies have the biggest setups. They will be the ones who will be back year after year. Make connections with those recruiters in case you would like to talk to them about a job after graduation. 

If you feel that your major will keep you out of most jobs there, talk to them anyway. Look for a company that interests you and introduce yourself. Chances are they won’t have a degree in what you expect. 

Overall, I am saying you should go to the career fair. The best thing that could happen is you find a job, internship or grad school. The worst thing that can happen is you spend an hour of your day talking to people and possibly get out of class. I know for a fact that any professor will let you miss their class if you tell them you are going to the career fair.