New Career Fair app helps students prioritize

UW-River Falls Career Services launched an app for the Career Fair to help students get the most out of the spring 2015 Career Fair.

The Career Fair is an opportunity for students to network and meet potential employers and find internships. The Career Fair is at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, in the University Center. There will be 97 organizations students can speak with and ask various questions.

UWRF launched the Career Fair app, available for Apple and Android smart phones, last semester. Students can search through the listings of companies and organizations that will be at the event and narrow their search to specific companies, according to the Career Services website.

“It provides a good opportunity for students to explore a wide variety of options," said McKenna Pfeiffer, assistant director of Career Services. "I think that by doing this it’s going to open students’ eyes to opportunities they may not have ever thought of.”

The app also had an interactive floor plan where students can make the most of their time and see where their favorite companies are located. It also adds pre-fair events to students’ calendars so students can stay up to date on changes to companies or events.

There are tips for appropriate dress attire and advice how to approach and talk with company representatives. Students can learn how to market themselves more effectively.

“This is our first time doing a spring Career Fair," Pfeiffer said. "When we, as an office, committed to doing it we had no idea what that would look like. It was a risk the staff was all willing to take because we know how beneficial events like this are. I’m excited by the volume of new organizations that are coming.”

All 97 companies are available on the Career Fair app. Students can filter their results to find opportunities best suited for their interests and field of study.

Companies attending aren’t all local to the River Falls area or the St. Croix Valley. There is a wide variety of companies with booths at the Career Fair, including: AT&T, Aerotek, GreenGuard Construction and New Horizon Academy.

The information available at the Career Fair can help students learn about more opportunities available when choosing a career path. Internships, full and part-time jobs, as well as graduate and summer positions, are available for students to learn more about their respective fields. Students can learn more about potential employers and graduate schools and begin to network and make connections with professionals in their field of study.

“No matter what year in school a student is, this event has valuable information to provide,” Pfeiffer said.

Students must be in professional attire to attend the Career Fair. Career Services offers advice to students to help prepare them for the fair and how to make good impressions on potential employers.