{"id":218835,"date":"2024-09-13T11:55:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T15:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=218835"},"modified":"2024-09-13T11:55:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T15:55:27","slug":"career-expo-draws-recruiters-from-50-top-corporations-hundreds-of-eager-student-job-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/09\/career-expo-draws-recruiters-from-50-top-corporations-hundreds-of-eager-student-job-seekers\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Expo Draws Recruiters from 50 Top Corporations, Hundreds of Eager Student Job-Seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brianna Linehan<\/strong>, a senior majoring in marketing, came to the Business Career Expo on Wednesday ready to impress employers.<\/p>\n

Linehan was eager to talk to recruiters about her course work, leadership experiences and her recent internship at Equitable in New York, where she helped create a website.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love these fairs and all the networking opportunities they offer,\u2019\u2019 said Linehan of Southington, Conn. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m excited to talk about my experiences and to look for a job where that I can grow and further develop my skills.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The School\u2019s 10th<\/sup> Business Career Expo<\/strong> on Wednesday drew hundreds of students looking for internships and permanent jobs at some of the region\u2019s most prestigious companies. From the moment the doors opened, the two presentation halls were filled with students.<\/p>\n

More than 50 companies attended the Expo, including Synchrony, IBM, Global Atlantic, FDIC, CVS Health, RTX, General Dynamics, Cigna, Target, Travelers and the U.S. State Department.<\/p>\n

The Value of Meeting Face-to-Face<\/h3>\n

Kathy Hendrickson<\/strong>, director of the Business Career Development Office, said student attendance broke records this year, and that she noticed students and recruiters were deeply engaged. \u201cThe recruiting season starts earlier each year for business students and the September expo reflects the need to make connections early,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often hear statements that the career fairs have lost their significance,\u2019\u2019 Hendrickson said. \u201cOn the contrary, we continue to see how invaluable a one-to-one conversation can be. A five-minute conversation can create the connection that leads to an exciting first career, often in an industry that wasn\u2019t anticipated.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Many Companies Sent UConn Alumni to Recruit <\/h3>\n

Many of the corporations sent recent UConn alumni to represent their businesses.<\/p>\n

Among them was alumnus Carter Gravina<\/strong> \u201924, who graduated in May with a major in business management. He now works as a provider contract analyst at Cigna, and was eager to share his experience at the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe corporate culture here is awesome,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cWe have training programs that help new employees get acclimated to their role. I\u2019ve met 21 people in my cohort and have a great network throughout the company.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

He said he and his colleagues would be looking for students with enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and interest in healthcare. The company has openings in diverse areas, ranging from tech to clinical roles.<\/p>\n

Gravina said his UConn education prepared him well for the challenges of the workplace. \u201cI took [Associate Dean] Nora Madjar\u2019s<\/strong> negotiations class and it helped me in the role I\u2019m in now and the interview process,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI learned so much about the value of relationships.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Senior Muhammad Ali,<\/strong> of West Hartford, was interested in meeting all the employers representatives, particularly those from Cigna and The Hartford. He is interested in a job in public relations or marketing, and hopes to stay in the area near his two younger sisters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely interested in something where the day-to-day work would not be repetitive, a job with good benefits, and a good work-life balance,\u2019\u2019 he said. In exchange, Ali said he can offer a strong skill set in communications and is a hard worker.<\/p>\n

Wanted: Students Looking to Become Leaders<\/h3>\n

Alumnus Easton Riley<\/strong> \u201916, is the CFO of the U.S. Federal Market at IBM, where he has worked for more than eight years. Riley attended the Stamford campus and majored in financial management. He was happy to be on campus Wednesday and meeting business students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for people who are interested in working at IBM, who have done research about our company, and are enthusiastic about technology,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI\u2019d be impressed by someone who asks good questions, is personable, and is highly motivated.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Recent graduate Katy Ortega <\/strong>\u201824, is in a marketing rotational program at Synchrony. She said the company has won several awards as a top workplace and she thinks they are well deserved. She is grateful for the opportunity to explore different career avenues at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many seniors feel pressure to know exactly what they want to do. Synchrony helps you learn, meet different people, and gain information,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to start a full-time role and not like it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for student who want to be leaders. This program puts you on a fast-track, so we want someone who has drive, who isn\u2019t afraid to ask questions, someone who is his or her authentic self, and is honest about what they need,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cAt Synchrony, I feel very taken care of. We draw people from across the country. We have wellness coaches so that you bring your best self to work, so that you feel good every day.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Students Seek a Welcoming Culture\u00a0 <\/h3>\n

Financial management students Blessing Forson<\/strong>, a junior, and Crystal Wiredu-<\/strong>Ennin, a senior, came from the Stamford campus to attend the Expo. Both women are looking for challenging positions, a good work-life balance, and a culture that is welcoming.<\/p>\n

The women were eager to share their experiences, which included strong academic achievements, roles as tour guides and in student government, studying abroad, internships, and leadership within the Women in Business committee.<\/p>\n

Wiredu-Ennin said she especially enjoyed the opportunity to meet potential employers at the Expo, allowing her to make a great first impression and also get a better idea of what companies would be a good match for her.<\/p>\n

Alumna Clare Wieduwilt<\/strong> \u201921, who is in an underwriting leadership development program at CVS in Hartford, said she was impressed by the students who are following in her footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students I\u2019ve met seem very eager to prepare for their careers. We\u2019ve even had some freshmen come through. I\u2019m surprised at how proactive they are,\u2019\u2019 she said. She said she was looking for students who had valuable experience, passion and drive.<\/p>\n

She planned to tell students that CVS \u201cis a very caring company, both in terms of its customers and its employees. It is a great place to work!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 50 companies attended the Expo, including Synchrony, IBM, Global Atlantic, FDIC, CVS Health, RTX, General Dynamics, Cigna, Target, Travelers and the U.S. State Department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":218836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1862],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-218835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-busn"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 03:49:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218835"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218841,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218835\/revisions\/218841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/218836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218835"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=218835"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=218835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}