Students advised to come prepared to career fair

Career Services is holding the largest annual fall Career Fair yet today through Thursday in the Nebraska Union.

"We have more employers than ever before," said Christina Fielder, the assistant director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's department of career services. There will be more than 350 potential employers on hand.

"It's busting at the seams," said Larry Routh, the director of career services.

Routh said he hopes lots of students will attend.

"It will never be easier for students to talk with employers from all different kinds of fields," he said.

And it won't be just big companies at the fair. There will be all sizes of companies, including non-profit organizations, Routh said.

Fielder suggests that students have their resumes and a 30-second "commercial" to promote themselves to the employer.

"It should include their name, their major and their career goals," Fielder said.

Routh suggests students first to go online to www.unl.edu/careers/. The Web site shows students a list of employers who will be at the Career Fair and links to their Web sites. This will help students prepare for the employers they will meet with.

Besides thinking through the perfect things to say to possible new employers, both Routh and Fielder want students to be prepared in how they dress.

"No holey jeans or sweatshirts," Routh said.

Both Routh and Fielder suggest, at the bare minimum, to dress in business casual. For men, that means a nice pair of pants and a button-up shirt, but not necessarily a tie. For women, that means a nice pair of pants or a skirt with a nice blouse or sweater set.

"We don't want students coming in normal everyday clothes," Fielder said.

Routh said he can't think of a reason why students shouldn't come, since employers really want to see the students.

"At the bare minimum, you can get a lot of free pens," Routh said.