Students impress at expanded Engineering Expo
More than 5,000 students attended the event, which was expanded to two days for the first time to accommodate a record-breaking 283 employers.
“Over the past few years, we’ve had approximately 50-60 employers on our wait list due to space constraints,” said Amy Franklin, employer services coordinator with Engineering Career Services. “We didn’t like turning away employers or the opportunities they provide for students, so we decided to try a two-day Expo in order to accommodate all employers wanting to recruit stellar Buckeye engineering talent.”
The two-day format also gave students the chance to talk to more companies over a longer time period, making it easier to network with more potential employers.
“It’s nice to have two days because it gives you the opportunity to talk to different employers each day,” said computer science and engineering major Mary Good of Hudson, Ohio. “As a freshman, the Expo came up very fast, but it’s been fun seeing all of the different businesses with unique wants, needs and functions, and all of the opportunities available.”
Companies such as ArcelorMittal, Boeing, Dow Corning, General Motors, Abbott Laboratories, Facebook, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Shell and many more come to Ohio State each year looking to hire Buckeye engineers for internships, co-ops and full-time positions.
“Ohio State students have been some of the best and brightest engineers that we recruit at Bosch,” said Julie Sharobeem, senior HR representative for corporate human resources. “When we recruit Buckeyes, we are looking not only for the technical knowledge, but also the soft skills, like being able to put these individuals in front of top leadership in our organization and allow them to present.”
Although known for being high-caliber employees, Ohio State students still impress recruiters each year.
“One thing that surprised me is how many people have done their research and have job functions in mind that they saw are available online before even coming to the career fair,” said Cardinal Health Software Engineer Abhishek Singh.
Jerae Drerup, senior specialist with Cardinal Health’s college relations team, echoed Singh’s words, adding “Ohio State students come prepared and know who we are, which we don’t always see at other schools.”
Many Buckeyes return to Ohio State after graduation to recruit for their companies, such as mechanical engineering alum Kevin Metka (’15). He currently supports Cardinal Health as an IT professional and is a member of the company’s EMERGE program.
“I like the EMERGE program because I get to explore another area of IT each year for three years,” said Metka. “Coming out of college, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do specifically, so the EMERGE program is great to find what you do and don’t like.”
Alumni from many companies and industries enjoy coming back to Ohio State to talk to current students and see how campus has evolved.
“It’s always good to come back and interview at your alma mater,” said Patrick Plaisted, software development lead at Microsoft, as he proudly boasted his alumni pin. “Hiring Ohio State students has been very profitable. We have a steady stream of Ohio State graduates that end up at Microsoft. The line has been almost out the door all day long.”
Recruiters from Bosch and Cardinal Health also mentioned the crowds of student engineers, with non-stop lines from start to finish.
The College of Engineering works to provide students with a top-notch education and the tools to succeed in their careers, but ultimately it’s up to each student to engineer his/her perfect career. For many, Engineering Expo marks the start of that process.
“Ohio State has prepared me to be a good engineer,” said senior mechanical engineering major Kyle Korn of Cincinnati, Ohio. “As for career services, they’ve been very helpful, but you have to put in extra effort to do well. The career fair is what you make it.”
Engineering Expo is an annual career fair sponsored by Engineers' Council in partnership with Engineering Career Services. Proceeds from the well-attended event support engineering student organizations and project teams.
Buckeye engineers and employers will have another opportunity to connect at the 2016 Society of Women Engineers Career Fair on February 3, 2016.
by Jenn Shafer
