It was business (almost) as usual at the Penn State Career Fair 2001 last week, as nearly 8,500 students dressed their best to meet representatives of hundreds of companies that were looking for their next generation of workers.

Although about 85 of the more than 500 companies that intended to attend the three-day fair at the Bryce Jordan Center cancelled due to the uncertainties surrounding the national tragedy on the fair’s opening day (September 11), Jack Rayman, director of Penn State Career Services, also reported that, “There was pretty good traffic here. People were channeling positive energy in a week when everything was difficult. A lot of employers said that they thought the numbers of student visitors were down, but that the quality was high.”

The annual fair aims to make finding that first job easier for the University’s upcoming graduates. Students line up at the employer booths of their choice throughout the Jordan Center, sometimes simply exchanging information with companies’ spokespersons, and sometimes getting on-the-spot interviews.

“Most companies that I looked at have programs that are willing to put the time into students that can become leaders for them,” said Tin Luu, a senior in Management and International Business from Philadelphia who hopes to land a job with a firm that will pay his way through an MBA program in the future. “I think diversity is an issue, being a student of color, so I mostly look for companies that are willing to diversify the spectrum of their people.” As for the types of companies he’s interested in, he said, “I’m poking my nose into a little bit of everything.”

For students whose graduation is a little farther in the future, the Career Fair also gives opportunities to find temporary employment to test their interests in different fields of work. For instance, Brinjac Engineering’s Bob Weidner, a 1982 Penn State graduate in Architectural Engineering, said the Harrisburg firm is looking for about eight interns from a variety of engineering disciplines, as well as perhaps a half dozen new hires overall this year. He added that at least one Penn State graduate is hired by the company in a typical year.

“It’s good to go around and see all the different companies and hopefully find an internship with someone,” noted Kelly Remington, a junior in Public Relations from Haddonfield, N.J., who had talked with at least 10 companies on Wednesday. “I’m glad the University’s doing it.”

For more information about Career Fair 2001, visit http://www.fairs.sa.psu.edu/Fall/.