Students poured in by the numbers at the annual Spring Career Fair held Wednesday by Florida A&M University.
The fair, held in the Al Lawson Center, invited and encouraged FAMU students of all classifications. Companies provided representatives who gave on-the-spot interviews for jobs and internships to students.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Macy’s Inc., Honda Manufacturing of Alabama and 122 other companies accepted resumes from FAMU students in hopes of job opportunities.
“It’s a great chance to be able to interact with executives one on one versus being in forum where they are unreachable,” Anastasia Woodberry, FAMU MBA candidate, said. “Attending the career fair has allowed me to build my networking skills and gotten me out of my comfort zone.”
Former students advised being fully prepared with documentation and being open to new experiences.
“I left with interviews that I did not intend on having, but I was open to the idea of conversing with companies that I didn’t consider initially,” FAMU graduate Adonai Hollins said.
The career fair has been a success and has assisted students in making post-graduation career moves.
FAMU alumnus Denequa Russell now works for Macy’s Inc. He believes the career fair is an excellent way for students to explore different career options.
“Before coming to the career fair, I had a specific career that I wanted to pursue, but engaging in the career fair really opened my eyes to the different paths that I could take while still arriving at my end goal,” Russell said.
After the career fair, some students left with internships and jobs.
“You never know what people have to offer and majority of the time you don’t know what you have to give to a company, until they bring it out of you,” Woodberry said.
Most of the company representatives at the career fair were FAMU graduates. Companies such as Aldi, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Macy’s Inc., all had Rattlers encouraging other Rattlers to enter the workforce.