The UCF Career Expo has succeeded again as UCF\u2019s largest career event, executed by Career Services. Held on the September 29 in the CFE Arena and the Venue, a first for Career Services due to increased employer participation.<\/p>\n
There were 280 employers and 2,684 students were in attendance. From 10 a.m.\u20133 p.m, UCF students and alumni were given the opportunity to rehearse their elevator pitches, brush up on industry knowledge and immediately begin marketing themselves to employers.<\/p>\n
Select employers in attendance recruited only for engineering and accounting majors, but the majority were looking for students of all disciplines, offering full and part-time positions.<\/p>\n
The career impact reaches past the day of expo itself, over 730 on-campus interviews were scheduled afterwards for attendees with 84 participating employers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tend to shy away from networking activities and this sort of forced me to be outgoing,\u201d said Kayla Orr, UCF senior, after attending. Orr will graduate in 2016. \u201cIt was a positive experience for me and I was told by several employers that I was a strong candidate.\u201d Orr now works for Lockheed Martin, a position she obtained through participation in the College Work Experience Program, a Career Services and Lockheed Martin partnership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot from employers; they said they were overwhelmed that the students had interests in so many different fields,\u201d explained Bryant Santana, UCF student volunteer for the Career Expo. \u201cStudents connected with a lot of employers they didn\u2019t previously know about and were interested to learn more. It was a success for both parties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Employment isn\u2019t the only result of the expo. It\u2019s a learning and growing experience for those not yet ready for the job market, an avenue to explore their industries of interest and realize career goals.<\/p>\n
In the expo survey feedback, student respondents stated that 58 percent learned more about their own professional goals while at expo, and 57 percent gained a valuable employer connection.<\/p>\n
Career Services delivers multiple large-scale events each semester. \u201cEmployment Bootcamp\u201d is held before each expo that prepares students for their job search through resume critiques, practice infomercial sessions with employers and a panel discussion.<\/p>\n