Students, alumni seek success at career fair

Record numbers of University of Illinois students and alumni talk with employers at the Fall Diversity Career Fair Sept. 26. Photo: S.K. Vemmer/UIC News (click on image for larger size)

Nearly 2,000 student and alumni job seekers — almost twice the expected number — handed out resumes to representatives of 115 employers Sept. 26 at the Fall Diversity Career Fair in the UIC Pavilion.

“It’s a positive sign that the job market is improving for UIC grads,” said Thy Nguyen, director of the Office of Career Services, adding that some students and graduates have already landed interviews from the job fair.

The event “really showcases the diversity of our students — a big piece that employers are looking for,” he said.

Career Services’ next event, the Chicago Graduate and Professional School Fair Oct. 17, will bring recruiters from about 200 graduate programs around the country.

Nguyen tells students it’s never too early to stop by Career Services, located in the Student Services Building.

L-R: Aniket Thatte and Anish Pillay, graduate students in mechanical engineering, wait for a recruiter; Visagan Vaithyanathan, UIC graduate in computer science, recruits for Yahoo; Danisha Taylor, senior in psychology, listens to a recruiter; Robert Hornbeck, U.S. State Department, talks with a student. “When world events start to heat up, that’s usually when we are hiring,” he said. Photos: S.K. Vemmer/UIC News (click on images for larger size)