'U' students go career hunting at annual job fair

By Benjamin Chess

For the Daily

Suits and ties. Briefcases and laptops. Resumes and handshakes. Entire lives being charted. Corporate America has taken over the Union.

With 180 businesses this year, the Career Planning & Placement Job Fair in the Michigan Union has expanded to two days giving enough space to accommodate more company representatives.

Students and graduates visited representatives from 90 companies yesterday and today beginning at noon, 90 different companies will be represented. The fair ends today at 4 p.m.

"We've been getting 30 to 40 more employers each year we've been doing this," said Sally Schueneman, career events manager for the Career Planning & Placement office.

Schueneman said she feels that the competitive market is the main reason for the increase; and companies are working harder than ever to find highly qualified employees.

Mark Daly of Flagstar Bank said he feels the pressure for a company to stick out from the crowd. "It's for us to sell (our company) ... to excite," Daly said, adding that he hopes people will prefer the smaller, more closely knit atmosphere of Flagstar over a larger corporation.

Students and graduates have been reaping the benefits of the demand. "It's been overwhelming. There are lots of great opportunities here," said LSA senior Aaron Miller. "This is a time when undergrads can earn respect. Businesses are aggressively seeking people and doing a lot more because they need people."

About 1,400 people attended last year's fair and 941 people pre-registered for the event online this year. Because the event is now two days long, organizers said they expect even more people to participate this year.

Jason Rocland of Susquehanna Partners, a securities firm, was confident of finding future employees. "We take the best," Rocland said. "We're not worrying because we know the best want to stay with us. We know that the University of Michigan is just as smart as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania or Stanford University."

Students had a variety of things they were looking for in their possible employers. "I looked first for the big names," said Devine Sudjito, who just graduated with a degree in Financial Analysis from the University. "I'm from Indonesia, so I'm also looking for a worldwide company," he said.

"I want them to show an interest in me," Miller said. "I want them to make eye contact and learn more about me. I want to know where I fit in their business."

The Career Planning & Placement office holds several job fairs throughout the year. Most are specific to a certain college, but this one is open to anyone. Most recruiters are from national corporations, but a few local companies participate also.