Despite the struggling economy, most employers at Ball State University's annual Career Fair said their business has stayed the same or improved.
The fair, which was sponsored by the Career Center, was from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday at Worthen Arena. Approximately 500 to 600 students showed up to talk to more than 100 businesses. Possible jobs and internships up for grabs ranged from positions in accounting to law enforcement.
Bryston Cutter, a representative from AIT Laboratories, said his company has seen a tremendous amount of growth. AIT Laboratories provides laboratory services for health care, pharmaceutical and forensic professions. Even though minimum wage rose and some companies have cut hours for employees, Cutter said AIT, which looks for students with degrees in biology or chemistry, is recruiting students at its usual rate.
"I encourage any student looking for a job or an internship to come to the Career Fair," Cutter said. "It allows students to have a face-to-face interaction with recruiters."
However, the recession has affected some companies at the Career Fair.
Ann Earnhart-Tenney said rock radio station WBYR 98.9 "The Bear," which is located in Fort Wayne, said the economy caused them to develop new money-making strategies. Earnhart-Tenney, a general sales manager at "The Bear," said the station is becoming more customer oriented and is focusing on getting more returns from its investors. Last year, "The Bear" hired one of its employees directly from Ball State's Career Fair.
Many students said they were uncertain about finding a job at the job fair.
Kaleigh Thorn, a junior advertising major, said she was nervous about finding an internship due to the competitive nature of the advertising industry. Thorn said she would combat her jitters with a strong voice, good posture and professional clothes.
But senior Elizabeth Johnson, a marketing major, said she was more motivated than nervous.
"I enjoy the wide variety of companies that are present," she said.
Johnson said she found two internships at past career fairs, and would like to work in medical sales or at a marketing firm in Indianapolis.
Students said they came prepared to talk to recruiters. Some had copies of their résumés, researched the companies they were interested in, wore professional clothes and thought of questions to ask recruiters.
"You have to be confident in your approach and have a good basic knowledge of the company you want to be recruited by," Kyle Garrison, a fifth-year senior business administration major and professional sales minor, said.
A lot of students said the Miller College of Business provided them with information about the Career Fair beforehand. The college told students about all the businesses that were going to be at the Career Fair and helped students prepare their résumés.
Overall, students said they enjoyed the Career Fair.
"I like getting to meet professionals that want to hire Ball State students," junior accounting major Jared Martin said.
The Career Center also thought the event was a success. They had more companies present than expected.
"Enjoyable things of the job fair [are] when employers bring back Ball State University graduates who got a job at a previous job fair," Joe Goodwin, assistant director of the Career Center, said.
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