According to the recent National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2017 survey, hiring for U.S. openings is expected to be relatively flat. Employers indicated plans to hire 5.8 percent more new graduates during 2016-17 than they did in 2015-16 for their U.S. operations. This news comes just as the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) hosted the 16th annual Spring Career Fair Feb. 8 in the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center.
According to NACE, the current projection is in line with final projections employers reported for last year’s graduates in the Job Outlook 2016 Spring Update survey. While employers initially anticipated hiring 11 percent more Class of 2016 college graduates, they ended the cycle instead with a 5.2 percent increase.
“The mission of the CCPD is to be a catalyst in the development of Rensselaer students to become world leaders in a technologically based global economy,” said Dawn Cairns-Weaver, associate director and director of experiential learning and cooperative education. “Beyond planning the annual Career Fair, our goals are to provide programs and services to assist students with their future career plans. The fair is an exciting opportunity for us to showcase Rensselaer’s talented and diverse students across all our academic programs. Additionally, the Career Fair allowed employers to seek out candidates for internships, co-ops, and full-time opportunities. We were pleased to host 154 companies and introduce them to the over 2,000 Rensselaer undergraduate and graduate students who attended the event this year.”
The CCPD Spring Career Fair attracts employers from across the country. This year, 70 employers participating in the fair hailed from New York state, including several Capital Region-based companies. Of special note, eight local startup companies participated in the fair, and seven of them are affiliated with the Paul J. ’69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship in the Lally School of Management. During the fair, Rensselaer undergraduate and graduate students had the opportunity to meet and talk with nearly 400 representatives and alumni and alumnae from public- and private-sector employers.
Participating companies included: Advanced Automation Technologies, Aetna, AMRI, BBL Hospitality, Beardsley Architects+Engineers, Bentley Systems, Bloomberg, Blue Sky Studios, Boston Scientific, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Central Intelligence Agency, CHA Consulting, Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Emagination Computer Camps, FactSet Research Systems Inc., GE, GlobalFoundries, Hasbro, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MathWorks, Mitre Corporation, New York State Department of Transporation, nfrastructure, Optum: a UnitedHealth Group Company, Pitney Bowes Inc., Price Chopper Supermarkets, Raytheon, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Saab Defense and Security, USA, LLC, Saint-Gobain, The Blackstone Group, The Nature’s Bounty Co., Trane, Troy Innovation Garage, Upstate Concierge Medicine, Vital Vio, Wayfair, and X-Ray Optical Systems.
The fair is designed to help students think ahead to potential full-time, co-op, internship, or summer employment opportunities. Students from all five schools at Rensselaer are encouraged to attend. After attending the Career Fair, the CCPD encourages students to follow up with employers and register to attend the many employer information sessions that take place throughout the spring semester.
Cairns-Weaver noted that the goal of the Center for Career and Professional Development is to provide students with outstanding career services and access to resources and opportunities to enhance their Rensselaer experience and plan for their future.
Photos by Demetrius Green ’18.