Cristina Foglietta 
The 2012 LIU Post Career Fair was held on Wednesday, March 28th, in the Tilles Center from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m.
LIU Post’s Career Services hosted the event. Forty-four companies were there in search of future employees and applicants for internship programs.
A diverse group of companies were in attendance to cater to all different majors, including TD Bank, CSA, Prudential Financial, PriMedia, Inc., Cablevision, Victoria’s Secret, Send in the Clowns, New York Life, Walk Radio, Island Photography, the U.S. Army Reserve, and Harbor Child Care.
The Director of Cooperative Education at LIU Post, Alice Baumer, planned the event. “We’re in a unique situation; there are more internships available than students applying for them,” Baumer said. Baumer strongly recommends that students apply for internships and mentioned that the Cooperative Education office will work with students one on one to find internships for their specific majors. To get an internship through the Cooperative Education office, students must complete a non-credit, four-class workshop called Enriched Experience Education, which gives students tips for getting internships, jobs and interviews. Students must also have accounts with Job Net, a website that helps both college students and college graduates find jobs and internships. To sign up with Job Net, students simply must go on Jobnet.com and put in their contact information.
Baumer expressed the advantages of internship experience for students. If one thinks he or she is interested in a specific job or field, he or she should try it out to see if he or she enjoys it because there is a change that he or she might not, said Baumer. “By the time students graduate, they know exactly what they want to do in their career,” said Baumer.
Many students who attended the Career Fair found it very helpful. Phuong Nguyen, a junior Business Administration major, is determined to get a summer internship and said she found a lot of companies there for her major. She came completely prepared, dressed professionally with 40 resumes printed. “I had an internship last summer in Vietnam in Finance. It was very helpful in letting me know that I am not the person for that job,” Nguyen said. Nguyen changed her major after that experience.
Shawn Dang, a sophomore also majoring in Business, is looking for a summer internship as well. “I’m looking for an internship in financial services,” said Dang. He never had an internship before and wants real work experience.
This was the second Career Fair for Kariaine Rojas, a sophomore who is majoring in both Early Childhood Education and Special Education. Rojas found the Fall 2011 Career Fair very helpful because it is where she found her current work-study job in office management. She hopes this job fair is just as successful. “Now, I’m looking for a summer job. I will be living on Long Island, and it is expensive,” said Rojas.
Some students found the Career Fair a bit overwhelming. Alex Zhang, a sophomore majoring in International Business, felt intimidated. “I felt like companies expect experience before you start an internship, which I don’t really have,” said Zhang. Other students felt that they were not quite ready. “I feel it is very difficult for some international students to get an internship here. I feel that my English is not advanced enough,” said Wenjia Shang, a graduate student studying Public Administration.
The Career Fair had a great turn out with “more students this year than in the past,” said Kimberly Brown, a career development counselor. After attending the fair, Brown advised students to contact their perspective employers. “Students should follow up with thank you notes and wait for their calls,” advised Brown. If you would like to contact Cooperative Education, the phone number is 516-299-2251, and the email address is careerservices@cwpost.liu.edu.
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