Santa Clara Career Fairs Return to In-Person Format

Students networked with employers from various industries in the Schott Athletic Center

Santa Clara held its Spring Career Fair in Schott Athletic Center on April 12, allowing students to interact and connect with employers face-to-face for the first time in three years. 

Over 800 Santa Clara students registered for the event on Handshake, a popular job-search platform for college students. Sixty-seven employers were in attendance, representing industries including government, engineering and technology. Prominent organizations included Bain & Company, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Enterprise Holdings and Tesla. 

The Career Center puts on the event as a resource for students looking for employment opportunities, as it maximizes the ability to connect with employers and search for jobs within a shorter time frame. 

“Our fall and winter fairs facilitated 4,708 unique student-employer interactions,” said Dylan Houle, the executive director of the Career Center. “Career fairs are arguably one of the most efficient networking and job search methods available to Santa Clara students.”

The event was designed to provide opportunities for students to expand their professional connections, especially as they face an increasingly competitive job market. According to the Wall Street Journal, the unemployment rate for college graduates aged 20 to 24 was 4.6% in Feb. 2023, up from 2.3% in Dec. 2021. 

This may indicate increased difficulty in finding a job for the graduating senior class because the high unemployment rate may lead to more competition over dwindling available positions. 

In response to this challenge for soon-to-be graduates, Houle pointed to the success previous career fairs have had in initiating a student’s career.  

“According to post-fair data we have collected, our career fairs directly result in hundreds of students landing interviews and being offered internships and jobs,” he said. “Career fairs are the only campus-wide events that lead to interviews and job offers at such a large scale.”

Outside of the career fair, Houle recommends that students network proactively. By initiating relationships with recruiters, Santa Clara students have an opportunity to stand out in a crowded candidate pool. 

“We encourage students to meet as many of the participating company representatives as possible and then to follow up with them after the fair on LinkedIn or by email,” Houle said. “Knowing someone at the company, especially if it's the recruiter, gives students a competitive edge in the job search process.”

The Career Center asked the attending employers to provide descriptions of their company values and abilities they look for in prospects. The most common desirable traits reported by the 26 responding organizations include communication, leadership and problem-solving. Students can find the list of employer sought-skills and initiatives here.