Brian O'leary, Senior Finance Major

Back in February, my brother and I knew the career fair was coming up, but we were still deciding if we wanted to go or not. We never attended an in-person career fair before, so it seemed pretty daunting to us at first.

During this last semester, we both were participating in the mentorship program, and my mentor Kyle O'Connor recommended that I should attend the career fair to grow my network and get some resumes out. He said when he used to attend Rowan, he felt the same way about networking and attending the fairs, it's probably the last thing you want to do. However, he told me that once it is over, you'll be glad that you did it and many of his own friends got offered full-time positions from attending the career fair. Without this advice, we probably would not have gone to the fair, so I am very grateful that I had a great mentor to guide me through the process.

At the career fair, we tried to give out as many resumes as possible to cast a wide net, which we thought would be the best way to improve our chances of hearing back from one of these companies. Sure enough, two weeks after the fair we received emails from a recruiter at SEI.

Some advice I can give to the students going into their job search is that it's a numbers game. Applying for jobs can be very tedious and demoralizing if you don't hear back from companies right away, but you have to keep your head up and push forward. I would highly recommend students attend the career fairs at Rowan, as I feel like that is the quickest way to get your name out there and to get offers. I know it may seem daunting at first, but the companies attending the fairs are there looking to hire students, so it is a great opportunity that you shouldn't pass up.

Attending the fair with a friend is a great way to ease your nerves and makes approaching people less intimidating if you have trouble with that. Before going to the fair, make sure your resume is finalized and presentable because companies will be receiving so many resumes throughout the day. Your resume represents you, so if it is unfinished or looks sloppy, then it will leave companies with a bad impression of you. You can attend resume workshops at Rowan or just compare with friends to make sure your resume is the best that it can be. Overall, just try to relax, be yourself, and smile, as this will help make a great first impression. Good luck to everyone in the future, and I'll see you at graduation!