Fall 2004

Career Fair Sees Increase In Company Participation

A twenty-five percent increase in the number of companies that attended the Rose-Hulman Career Fair this fall is another indication of increasing job opportunities for engineering graduates, says Kevin Hewerdine, the college's director of career services and employer relations.

Rose-Hulman hosted at least 250 recruiters from 110 companies during the Career Fair conducted in the Sports and Recreation Center.  In 2003, recruiters from 90 companies participated.

 "The increased interest in our Career Fair mirrors national trends," Hewerdine explained. "The job market for engineering is improving, but still not near the record pace of the late 1990s and 2000. We're seeing an increase in recruiters from Midwest manufacturing companies and from businesses needing to hire computer science majors," he stated.

"Even though the outlook is positive for 2005 graduates, we encourage alumni to continue to inform us of entry level or summer internship opportunities at their place of employment or that they're aware of through their own networks," Hewerdine noted.

"Opportunities for chemical engineers are especially needed along with job leads for our growing number of biomedical engineering students," he added.

Companies that sent recruiters to the Career Fair included several Fortune 500 firms like General Motors, Microsoft and Northrup Grumman as well as other companies such as Cummins, Biomet, Expedia, Cook Group, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane, Bemis, Caterpillar and Raytheon.

Hewerdine said companies have started earlier in the academic year than ever before to contact seniors. "Some companies contacted us the second week of the school year asking for resumes," he noted.

Hewerdine warned that despite the increase in recruiting, students are being urged to be aggressive to be successful in their job search. "It's still up to the students to be very proactive. They've got to go out and make it happen," he said.

About 70 students are following his advice by volunteering for a committee that works for 10 months planning and conducting the Career Fair. "The recruiters are very impressed that the students are so involved in the event," says Jan Ford, associate director of career services, who coordinates the student committee. Ford credits the committee with recruiting several new companies to this year's Career Fair.  Student committee co-chairs were Jake Klug and Brian Edmonson.