Over one hundred companies and organizations met with hundreds of students Career Services brought students and prospective employers together at a career fair in the Gantcher Center Friday afternoon.
One?hundred?five companies, organizations and other groups representing areas including consulting, communications, education, government and law sent representatives to the annual event, which drew over 800 people, according to Director of Career Services Jean Papalia.
Yet while some students were able to make use of the fair's resources, others felt that the event's scope was unsuited to political science and International Relations majors.
This year's fair attracted a greater number of employers overall, an increase from last year's 95, according to Papalia.
"This is my first time at the fair, and I've been pleasantly surprised," Ellen Hall, who represented the Perkins School for the Blind, told the Daily. Hall said she came to the fair with the aim of recruiting teaching assistants for the school.
"Everyone warned me, 'Oh, you're not going to get any interested students. Tufts is a technical school,'" Hall said. "But I've spoken with many students with majors such as psychology and sociology, which is great for working in this field."
Some companies sent Tufts alumni as their representatives. Erin Young (LA '07), who represented Invensys Operations Management, became interested in her employer after attending a Tufts Career Fair during her senior year, she said.
"Someone else from our company came last year, so I'm not sure about how this year's turnout has been compared to previous years, but we've seen a lot of interest," Young said. "These events are great and will hopefully give students more insight on what they want to do."
Companies present at the fair ranged from private firms Abt Associates and Fidelity Investments to nonprofits like Teach for America. Government entities like the Department of State and the Peace Corps also sent representatives.
"Students who had researched the organizations ahead of time felt well prepared and confident in approaching employers," Papalia said. "The employers were pleased with the students they met and impressed with their experiences, level of preparation and questions."
Rohit Biswas, a senior majoring in IR and Middle Eastern studies, hoped to establish contacts with potential employers. "I came to get started on networking and to explore my opportunities for after graduation," he said.
Biswas spoke to representatives from the State Department booth and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but said he had hoped to find more opportunities for IR majors at the fair.
"I think it would be great to have more think tanks and other companies with an IR focus, especially considering Tufts is so big on IR and political science," he said.
Junior Tarik Watts, an IR major, said it appeared to him that companies focusing on engineering or consulting had the largest presence at the fair.
"All the others are busy with interested students, but there most likely will only be a couple of positions available."
Senior Peter Corey, a double major in IR and French, did not attend the fair due to a class conflict.
"I looked online before at the different people that were attending," he said. "Of the few that was interested in, I would apply anyway" to those organizations and saw no reason to attend the career fair, Corey said.
Chris Nolop, a double major in architectural studies and International Letters and Visual Studies, said he decided not to attend the fair because it did not match up with his post?graduation plans.
"I checked out the list of all the companies that would be there," Nolop, a senior, said. "There were a ton of engineering companies, but not many that were related to design as much as I'd like."
Senior Steve Kang, who is majoring in economics and psychology, was surprised at the large number of companies present.
"I've learned about a lot of interesting positions at various firms," he said. "I think Tufts did a great job finding companies with opportunities in consulting and finance."
Kang said that many of the fair's offerings seemed limited to local companies. "A lot of my friends have been saying that too many of them are located in the Boston area," he said.
Papalia said students interested in further career opportunities should attend upcoming Career Services events, including the Job Search Boot Camp at the end of the month and the Resource Fair for Seniors in early November.Matt Repka contributed reporting to this article.
