With the next Hubbard Center career fair this afternoon, I highly recommend you attend the event to begin networking with professionals in potential fields you may explore in your professional life.

I work as a Coquillette Peer Consultant (CPC) at the Hubbard Center where I assist students in shaping their resumes, cover letters and provide any professional advice to fellow students. During my time working as a CPC, I have worked with many students with eager aspirations for their futures. The next step to making these aspirations realities is attending the career fair.

An internship is a great investment for your future, and a great way to find out more about companies’ internships is at the career fair. You may think you’ve checked out and applied to every internship you are interested in, but I guarantee there are companies with tremendous intern programs that are attending this career fair that you have not thought about applying for. Having internship experiences gives you experience that will most certainly pay off in the long run.

Another essential skill to learn is being able to sell yourself to a professional in a short amount of time, and this can really only be simulated at a career fair. Whether it’s an interview, networking meeting or just running into a professional in your field, it is important to be able to prove to that professional that you would be a positive influence on their company. There will be lots of students at the fair, so you will not have an abundant amount of time talking to each company’s representative.

You should never miss an opportunity to network yourself. Will everyone walk out of this career fair with a summer job secured? Of course not. But you never know what a professional relationship you made with someone at a career fair can do for you at any time of your life. All it takes is one job opening and one member of the company remembering the great conversation you had with them at the fair.

All in all, it is important to remember that the professionals attending this career fair are DePauw alumni who want to help you. A company would not send representatives to a career fair if they were not interested in hiring DePauw students for either internships or full-time jobs out of college. They are excited to hear from you.

I hope there are students that weren’t planning on attending the event today who will open up The DePauw this morning and change their mind. There is no harm in attending the event, and I promise you that you will be happy with yourself if you attend.