WestConn and other Connecticut State University (CSU) schools partnered with virtual event producer CareerEco to hold a virtual career fair on Wednesday, April 20. The event was open to students and alumni of all majors, and was held from 12:00 to 4:00 pm.

CSU students and alumni had the chance to connect with over a hundred employers from all over the country and learn from their real-world experience. The virtual nature of the fair made it easy to talk to employers since every organization had their own group session room, which let them interact with multiple attendees at a time. Employers could also invite students into private one-on-one sessions where they could discuss opportunities, ask questions, and exchange information.

Upon registration, students got access to organization profiles that told them everything they needed to know about a company, such as general information, job postings, and contact details. They could also filter and scroll through companies in advance to find specific positions that they wanted.

“[Career fairs] are vital because they’re a very efficient, low stakes way to practice talking to people and to see what employers want. They represent opportunities to get real experience; to get paid for your hard work. Opportunity won’t always run to you. You have to be able to take that first step yourself,” Kathleen Lindenmayer, director of WestConn’s Career Success Center said.

What separated this career fair from the previous ones held by the Career Success Center is the number of other universities involved. This marks the first time that the entire CSU system has worked together on a career fair, and it allowed for a wider outreach than they’ve ever experienced before. Participating employers ranged from financial institutions (Savings Bank of Danbury and M&T Bank) and camps (Channel 3 Kids Camp and JCC Day Camps), to schools (Danbury Public Schools and Great Oaks Charter Schools) and news broadcasting groups (ESPN and FOX-61).

“If you miss the opportunity, especially when you can get an idea of what 150 different employers are looking for, you miss a lot of personal research that you can do,” Lindenmayer explained. “We don’t normally get companies like ESPN. They don’t normally go to a lot of schools… They don’t need the extra exposure, but they came because they were specifically interested in CSU students.”

Except organizing the career fair was easier said than done. CSU career fairs were mostly held in person until the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to be held virtually and ensure the safety of students and employers. Quarantine limited the scope of these events even more and, according to Lindenmayer, they experienced “dismal attendance” compared to their pre-pandemic numbers. It became even more of a challenge to figure out how to still bring opportunities to WestConn, but that didn’t stop her. Lindenmayer reached out to other Connecticut-based universities and community colleges with an idea: a virtual career fair that every CSU student could attend if they wanted to. Large-scale collaborations like these take time, but she knew that the more universities, the more employers, and, in turn, the more opportunities for students.

WestConn took the lead for the event and many of the initial employers actually came from their connections. As time went on and more opportunities came from other schools, the CSU System tried to get as much representation from different industries across the board. The career fair leaders did whatever they could to advertise for the event. They sent out emails, hung up flyers, posted on social media, and connected with professors throughout various departments. Lindenmayer even went to each university in person to meet with students and tell them about the upcoming virtual career fair; whatever it took to pass information around.

“We’ve had to be more creative about the way we reach students. There are a lot of students who are just regular commuters here during the day that go home right after their last class. They get hit with so much information all the time that if we aren’t proactive enough, they won’t hear about things like this,” Lindenmayer said.

The fair being completely online is a big factor as to why as many employers attended as they did. Not only could students and employers interact with each other from the comfort of their home or office, but they didn’t have to travel to a potentially distant location just to be at the fair. Students who otherwise would be unable to attend the fair now could with little-to-no barrier for entry. While employers had to pay for a spot in the fair, they could reach students all over the state and get the word out about their business in a way that they might not have been able to before.

“I’m sure that we would have interest in joining another career fair. We’re certainly looking to find potential candidates for openings that we currently have and will have going into the fall, but we’re also looking to get the word out about the different types of positions the school has to offer… Sometimes people know about them, sometimes they don’t, but that’s why it’s important that we’re here,” Danbury Public Schools Special Education supervisor Kate Festa said.

Even though the event has come and gone, that doesn’t mean it’s too late for students who missed it. Anyone who wants to reach out to the companies from the fair can do so whether they signed up or not, and can still find employer’s job openings and contact information on the CareerEco website. Beyond that, the WestConn Career Success Center has lifetime use for their services and is willing to help college students however they can long past graduation. They provide services on networking, resume building, interview advice, and even offer career classes throughout the fall and spring semesters that prepare students for employment.

“It’s never too late,” Lindenmayer said. “When one door closes, another one opens. Learn from that, and let’s see what we can do with where we are.”

The Career Success Center is open Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and is located in Room 300 of the Westside Campus Center. They also offer 24/7 access to career-related resources and support on their website.