Hundreds of booths, all in neatly apportioned rows with a backdrop of black and gold drapes, dotted MizzouRec on Tuesday afternoon.
These booths were populated with recruiters from all manner of companies, all of whom came in search of engineers — the kind of world-class future engineering leaders only Mizzou Engineering can provide.
More than 200 companies spoke at length with more than 1,000 students at the 2019 Mizzou Engineering Career Fair on Tuesday. Some were new to this particular event, some longtime participants — and all received a deluge of students eager to show off their skills and resumes in search of a job, co-op or internship.
One of the longtime attendees is Bayer, which came in search of chemical, electrical, computer and mechanical engineers. Bayer’s Soniya Shaikh said the company appreciates the strength of Mizzou Students from a variety of disciplines.
“We’re looking for the different aspects of engineering that will put everything together,” she explained. “We need engineers for things such as equipment, process engineers who will keep our key processes running, chemical engineers.”
The MU Engineering Leadership, Engagement and Career Development Academy runs the Career Fair each semester, and there’s more than just one single day of interaction. Some companies participated in information sessions to share more about their organizations and get to meet students in a more intimate setting. Others tabled in Lafferre and Naka Halls. Still others have or will hold interviews.
The centerpiece of the week, Career Fair aside, was the Networking Dinner and Reverse Career Fair on Monday. Employers had the opportunity to go around and interact with student organizations and groups and sell themselves to potential future employees, as well as build mentor-based relationships.
“We find a lot of good talent from here,” Honeywell’s Alex Shantz said on Monday. “We value it because we find a lot of good candidates. Here, having that close-to-home feel, a lot of people are more familiar with this area, so we’re able to recruit a lot of good people from here.”
Between the variety of offerings from the Academy and the Career Fair itself, most if not all companies found what they were looking for at Mizzou Engineering — brilliant future employees and well-rounded engineers and leaders. Essex Industries was a first-time employer to this year’s career fair, and they had a wonderful experience.
“I loved this school and I love the students,” Mizzou alum and Essex Industries human resources representative Kerri Derbak said. “I haven’t had a student, an intern or spoken to somebody from here I haven’t been impressed by. So when I know I’m coming back go Mizzou, I know it’s where we want to find the right talent. That’s why we chose to come.”