photos by Gracey Evans
Mike Cerchario, Education Professor Manager at the Pittsburgh CLO, talks to Robert Berger, freshman multimedia major, about upcoming internship opportunities. Over sixty employers attended the job and internships last Tuesday, Feb. 9 in the Student Center Gym. 

Last Tuesday, more than 300 students from six universities filed into the Point Park Student Center gym to meet with potential employers. 

The Spring Internship and Job Fair, hosted by the sports, arts and entertainment management (SAEM) department, the Office of Alumni Relations and the Career Development Center, took place on the fifth floor of the Student Center and ran for over three hours.

Four separate panels were hosted over the course of the fair. The topics of the panels covered social media, sports, diversity in the workplace and a live entertainment and venue panel.  Speakers from the event included executives from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers organizations, the Director of Booking for CONSOL Energy Center, the Social Media Manager at WPXI-TV and the Senior Director of Advocacy for Race and Gender Equality at YWCA Greater Pittsburgh.

Over 200 students pre-registered for the event, though many attended the event as walk-ins.  Elsie Boucek, Career Counselor for the School of Communication, said students from surrounding universities attended. Students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Seton Hill University, Penn State Greater Allegheny and Thiel College were invited to attend the event.

In addition, 67 employers registered for the event on Handshake, a career networking and recruiting site centered for students.  Notable companies at the event included the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, Live Nation Entertainment, CBS Radio, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and Steel City Media.  The sports organizations Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates’ B.U.C.S. Academy both had tables at the event.

“Having people from the sports teams is always good, because they’re busy and they have a lot of choices in schools that they can attend the job fairs for,” Boucek said. “I think one student was particularly excited because the Steelers were here.”

One employer said they keep returning to the biannual job fairs because of the students that Point Park University has produced. 

“I know a lot of the majors here are people we’re looking for. Criminal justice majors, for example,” said Jason Brown, Western Regional Manager for Pennsylvania’s State Civil Service, at the event. Brown said the Service has had a table at the event since he started working for the Civil Service four years ago. 

Brown himself is a Point Park graduate, and received his master’s degree from the university in criminal justice and public administration in 2006.  

“There are good students coming out of Point Park, and hopefully they can find employment with our various agencies and encourage other students to do the same,” Brown said. 

Students were provided with informational packets and a variety of tools to assist them in appearing more professional at the job fair, including ties and cosmetic tools.  According to Boucek, getting students to dress in a professional manner is a recurring problem at the job fairs hosted by the Career Development Center.

“One of the hardest issues for us is helping students to understand professional dress,” Boucek said.  “There’s a whole trendy fashion thing that people are into, and trendy fashion isn’t necessarily professional attire, so we have to work with students in that regard.”

Several employers at the fair acknowledge that respectable dress is an important factor in determining a student’s professionalism as well.  

“I think sometimes it is hard to find appropriate clothing, or dress for the room,” said Michael Baltzer, Recruitment Manager for Public Allies. “Of course, I’m in a t-shirt,” Baltzer said, laughing.

Baltzer noted that the largest mistake students made was that they failed to introduce themselves. Boucek said the Career Center emphasizes that students do a resume review and practice an “elevator speech,” or a 30 second introductory speech to make a good first impression on employers. 

“Students make the mistake of saying to the employer, ‘I need an internship; what do you have?’ It’s kind of a turn-off to the employers,” Boucek said.

Senior sports, arts and entertainment management major Danielle Mahl said she tried to prepare mentally for the event.  

“I had some anxiety when I came in, but I relaxed as I went down the line and talked to more people,” Mahl said.  “It was very good practice for networking and I made really good connections with some of the employers.”

Mahl said she was working on touching up her resume and didn’t come to the event with any physical copies, though she said she talked to around 15 employers. 

“I got all the contact info from people and signed up for email lists so I can send it to them.”  Satisfied with the fair, Mahl said she spoke to an event planning and venue company, exactly the kind of employer she was seeking to interact with.  

Boucek said she believes the entire event went over very well, and that there were few negative complaints from students or employers at the event.  

“There was some criticism from a few students who commented they had to make a stick-on nametag,” Boucek said.  “We had provided made nametags for pre-registered students in the past, but we’re also looking at cost cutting measures because the university has been in a bit of a budget crunch.”

Still, Boucek said the Career Development Center was pleased with the numbers at the event.  

“I talked to some employers, and everyone seemed to be upbeat with their interactions,” Boucek said. “One employer told me they were all out of everything. They had given away all of their announcements, flyers and business cards. That’s a positive thing.