Students flocked to the Joyce Center Wednesday night in hopes of finding their future calling, an internship for the summer, a job for next year or general advice.
With 130 companies - 20 first timers - appearing at the annual fall Career Fair, there was plenty of opportunity for students to make professional contacts.
ProShop Building Products, Steak 'n' Shake, Tribune Co. and Harris Nisbit all had booths and representatives at the fair.
Post-graduate volunteer programs like ACE and Teach for America were also present.
Bradley Leon, a representative of Teach for America, answered many questions about how to apply and what opportunities might be available after the two-year commitment to Teach for America was completed.
Many of the companies present contacted Notre Dame asking to be part of the University's Career Fair, said Robyn Karkiewicz, manager for the office services in the Career Center.
"There has been a great response from the companies who have attended our past career fairs," Karkiewicz said. "They have wonderful things to say about the students and the facilities we offer."
Among the crowd at the Joyce Center to represent their new businesses were Notre Dame alumni and students who had just finished internships over the previous summer.
Dan Siracuse, a senior at Notre Dame and intern at EchoStar this past summer, was one such student working the booth for EchoStar Satellite LLC.
"I gave my resume to them last year at this Career Fair," he said. "They called me for an interview the following day. I then took an online aptitude test, had to write a case report and was offered the internship soon after. It was a great experience working for them."
Karkiewicz said such success stories at the fair are not unusual.
"Students can at least walk away from this fair with their name out in the business world and most likely a phone call from one of the companies they spoke to," Karkiewicz said.
The Career Fair is a great way for students to see what companies are coming to Notre Dame to recruit. And companies are looking, Karkiewicz said.
Compared to last year, 100 more interviews have been scheduled for these few days following the actual fair, Karkiewicz said. These interviews take place in the Career Center. There are 25 individual rooms available for interviews.
"The economy must be doing pretty well because these companies are looking for people to fill jobs," Karkiewicz said.
While this Career Fair is geared towards the business students at Notre Dame, there will be an English Career Fair later this fall, in addition to an Arts and Letters Fair on Oct. 3.
The Winter Career Fair, with a similar format to last night's expo, will be held Feb. 1.
