Career Fair

It’s that time of year again where countless companies make their way into the Fargodome for the biannual NDSU Career Fair. Spanning over two days, the Career Fair is a chance for employers and students to network with one another. NDSU graciously organizes this even twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring, each lasting two days with each day focusing on different careers. The first day was directed toward Agriculture and Business and the second day was for Engineering and Technology. This fall was my second career fair as I had also attended last spring.

As Architecture and Engineering work together in the real world, they are also put together on the same day of the Career Fair

Just as last spring had multiple architecture employers, this fall was no different. In the time I had between classes to attend, I was able to make my way around to six different firms. They all had really great things to say and incredible people to talk to. Many of them talked about the different industries they worked in as they weren’t all focused on architecture. Many of them had engineering and landscape architecture branches of their companies and some even had other smaller branches as well. As I went around to talk to the different firms, I noticed many of them focused on commercial or education. Of course, many of them also concentrated on both, as well as many other sectors such as residential, governmental, industrial, and healthcare.

What I learned from my time going around talking to everyone was that communication skills are crucial in order to network with employers. Sometimes I’m not always comfortable socializing but I feel as if last spring better prepared me for the fair this fall. I felt that I had grown in my communication skills based on my performance during the fair. It was great to hear all about the different firms as well and hear about their projects and where their companies were headed in the future. I was very pleased and surprised when talking to one firm to hear that they were the ones working on the addition to the high school that I graduated from.

NDSU’s Renaissance Hall where I study Architecture and where I can put what I learned at the Career Fair to work

Taking all of what I learned from the fair and from the employers that I talked to, I’m more confident than ever moving into my future as I prepare for the real world. As I explained that I was keeping my options open and really trying to not limit myself to certain sectors, it stood out to me as firms expressed their enthusiasm for my open mindedness. Taking that into consideration, I will continue to have an open mind and try not to limit myself in order to expand my knowledge.

Putting everything together that I learned, the major takeaway is network, network, network! I remember a seminar that I went to freshman year that outlined in order to build your net worth, you must first build your network, and that has stayed with me ever since. It’s not easy going to these fairs and in order to make the most of them I have to step outside of my comfort zone. When I get there and actually interact with people and get to know them and what their firms are all about, it’s definitely worth it in the end.