Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013
Current Rider students and alumni networked with recruiters from more than 100 companies ranging from finance and retail to nonprofits and state and federal government at the Spring Career Fair on March 29 in the Cavalla Room.
by Sean Ramsden
For Christine Green ’03, meeting prospective employers at the Spring Career Fair a decade ago allowed her to land the job she was looking for. Then a senior Business Administration and Economics major, Green managed to parlay a productive face-to-face encounter with a recruiter at the Career Fair into a job at New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance.
“I worked there for five years before leaving to stay home with my son,” said Green, now looking to re-enter the job force with her youngster set to begin kindergarten. “So, I figured it would be good to come back to the Career Fair.”
Green’s instincts paid dividends again, as she managed to line up a promising interview with MetLife. She was just one of the Rider alumni who joined scores of current students in the Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room on March 29 to meet recruiters from more than 100 companies ranging from finance and retail to nonprofits and state and federal government. The fair featured full-time and part-time employment, internships, co-ops, externships and summer opportunities.
“I’ve been looking at online job sites, but this was the first place I really felt a positive vibe,” Green said of the Career Fair.
That brand of optimism was reflected by current students like Lorelei Colbert ’14, who was on the hunt for summer internships.
“I’d love to get things rolling,” said Colbert, a Communication/Public Relations major who also serves as Student Government Association president. “I’ve got a couple prospects for marketing internships lined up, which would be right up my alley.”
Employers – a number of which were also Rider alumni – were pleased with the students they met over the course of the day.
“They’ve been great. We’ve met a lot of students looking for co-ops and internships as well as jobs after graduation,” said Cherilyn Nichols ’01 of Johnson & Johnson, who was working alongside Nicole Addesso ’10. Nichols added that Johnson & Johnson also had supply chain division representatives there to make connections with students.
Justin Mersinger ’11, who was representing Jack Morton Exhibits of Robbinsville, already had a job lined up as a Rider senior when he met Jack Morton reps at the Spring Career Fair two years ago.
“We connected at the Career Fair, and I followed up with them a few months later,” said Mersinger, who now works as a project manager with the exhibiting company. “I came back to the Career Fair last year with them as an alum.”
Mersinger’s colleague, Kristine Corbin, added the benefit to students at the Career Fair is clear.
“These things work,” she said.