Student participation in the Student Government Association and the Center for Career Services’ annual Career Expo nearly doubled last week following last year’s uptick, which the fair’s organizers attribute to outreach efforts ahead of the two-day event.
Kelly Bishop, the associate vice provost for career services, said more than 2,000 students attended Career Expo events on Sept. 12 and 13 — an 81.82 percent increase from the 1,100 who attended the four-day event in February. Student attendees expressed similar levels of satisfaction with this year’s event on the exit survey as compared to last year’s, with 85 percent of students saying they were prepared for their conversations with employers.
Bishop said 100 percent of employers who attended the Expo reported a positive experience with arrival, check-in and other parts of the day-of Expo experience. She said 86 percent of employers said students, in general, said the appeared prepared to talk with them when they approached the booths.
Bishop said the Expo partnered with the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences to dedicate the second day of the fair to STEM focused careers but kept the first day open to all industries. She said SEAS previously held a mid-sized career fair during the fall semester but decided to collaborate with the larger Expo this year because the Center for Career Services expressed an interest in helping STEM students speak with employers.
“Many STEM employers concentrate their recruiting during the fall, and we wanted to ensure GW students had access,” Bishop said.
Bishop said the the SGA and Center for Career Services hosted “preparatory workshops” for students leading up to the event like Resumania, a new event this year held Sept. 9 where students could meet with GW career coaches for 15 minute sessions to review their resumes prior to the event.
Demetrius Apostolis, the executive director of the Career Expo, said the fair’s leadership held the first day, which was open to all industries, in both the Grand and Continental ballrooms on the third floor of the University Student Center. He said the first day hosted between 50 and 60 employers from all industries while the second, STEM focused day only hosted about 30 employers. He said splitting the total number of employers up into two days made the spaces less hot and crowded, a concern students shared in an exit form following last year’s Expo.
“We’re going to continue to explore avenues in the future, such as expanding into different spaces, possibly for Spring Expo,” Apostolis said. “And so we’re still looking at ways in which we can better equip it so that it’s not as crowded and students don’t feel stressed in those environments.”
Apostolis said he attributes the uptick in attendance this year to Expo leaders’ efforts to promote the event to first-year students. He said the SGA and Center for Career Services placed flyers in the bags first-year students receive during orientation events, which he suspects made more students aware of the offering.
The SGA Senate passed the GW Career Exploration Expo Future Longevity Act last February, which ensures the Expo can receive funding from the SGA each year and permits the Expo’s former executive director to nominate the upcoming year’s director. Apostolis, who has served as executive director since 2023, said the fair’s leadership will host another event in Spring 2025 which will run similar to past year’s events and include speakers as well as an Expo with employers from all industries.
Apostolis said the Expo offered students a coaching prep room during the fair in the Doyle room on the third floor of the USC for students to speak with career coaches and receive tips about how to interact with employers and gain feedback on their resumes. Joe Genens, an industry career coach for GW’s Center for Career Services, said he helps students who may be coming to a career Expo for the first time navigate how to make lasting first impressions and “get the jitters out” before entering the ballroom to converse with employers.
“Sometimes, it’s the first time that a student has been to a Career Expo, and we are wanting to hash out how do you initiate a conversation with an employer,” Genens said.
Bianca Bayona, a first-year majoring in international affairs and environmental studies who attended the first day of the Expo, said she was interested in talking to employers from the federal government like the State Department but didn’t get the chance to speak to any representatives because of the magnitude of students occupying the booths throughout the event. She said the experience was “overwhelming,” and she thought it would be helpful to stagger the times people enter the ballroom in order to have more time to speak with individual employers.
“The lines are so long and you’re waiting in line for 20 minutes to speak to someone, and you only get a chance to ask one question,” Bayona said.
Stella Wiesemann, a first-year graduate student studying information systems technology who attended the first day of the Expo, said she was looking for technology and business industries and was able to speak to employers from DELL, Gallup and FedEx. She said as a graduate student, she felt experienced when interacting with employers and found it easy to navigate through the employer booths that filled the two rooms.
“I’ve been used to Expos so it definitely gets easier with time,” Wiesemann said. “They were all super nice and answered all my questions.”
Chris Krush, an engineer representing Fibertek — an engineering company that focuses on laser system technology — on the second day of the career fair, said he looks for students who show “further engagement” in their school through extracurricular activities and clubs. He said Fibertek targets students with mechanical and electrical engineering experience when scouting at career Expos.
“Students have been very engaged and eager to learn, which is very good to see when looking for new employees, especially as they’re coming out of school,” Krush said.
