Largest in the state, career fair is 'testament' to USU students

From careers to internships, the Utah State University Career Fair gave students access to potential employers on Wednesday.

For 23 years, USU Career Services has been providing students with the opportunity to network with different employers. This year more than 140 representatives from companies including Target Corp. and Intermountain Healthcare Inc. attended.

“We are almost always, including this year, the largest in the state, which is a testament to our students that these employers come because they love what they see,” said Donna Crow, the executive director of Career Services at USU.”

Several employers expressed satisfaction and admiration with the crop of USU students that attended the fair.

“We get well-qualified graduates that come look at our positions,” said Tracy Taggart, the human resource recruiter from Zions Bank. “What a better way than the career fair to come up and network.”

According to Crow, employers and students are not the only ones who attended the career fair. Other institutions such as The University of Utah, Weber State University and Westminster College also attended to learn how USU Career Services has implemented its student and employer involvement.

Unique to the USU career fair is the student host program, Crow said. Through the program, students are given the opportunity to work closely and individually with specific employers. The student hosts cater to the employers’ needs while at the fair.

“It is a stress-free avenue for a student to closely network because they’re not trying to get an interview,” Crow said. “It’s a wonderful way to get a connection.”

Jason Neil, a student host who is working on his master’s degree, said that being a student host at the career fair has been very beneficial for him. Neil attended the fair last year and he said it was a great way to interact with multiple employers and learn what they want.

“You can definitely tell those who are maybe a step above the average student by the way they interact and how serious they are,” said Brian Chambers, the director of operations for West Host, a web-hosting company. “They need to be professional and can demonstrate to me in an interview that they can make the step from college to real world experience.”

Neil also said that it is very important for students to be prepared to talk and interact with future employers before going to the career fair.

“You have all these companies coming here to offer good jobs and I don’t know if students recognize how valuable that is,” Chambers said.

Rebecca Eisenhower, Eric Jungblut, Trevor Anderson, Ryan Neeley, Marisa Nielsen, Trey Williams, Nicole Murray, Bailey Nielsen contributed to this report.