Thousands of students prepared for RIT Career Fair

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A. Sue Weisler

Thousands of students attended the Career Fair last year.

More than 250 employing organizations and more than 800 recruiter representatives seeking Rochester Institute of Technology students and graduates are attending the Fall 2015 Career Fair Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Gordon Field House.

More than 4,500 RIT students and alumni are expected to attend the event, which allows them to meet with prospective employers to explore career opportunities for internship, cooperative education, entry or experienced level positions.

RIT’s cooperative education model is one of the oldest and largest in the country. More than half of the students participating in co-op will go to work for one of their co-op employers upon graduation, said Manny Contomanolis, senior associate vice president and director of RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education.

There are employers attending from across the country, including many from the west coast. Some, like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Toyota and the NSA attend regularly each year while 10 percent of the companies, including Southwest Airlines, Whirlpool and Gulfstream, are attending the Career Fair for the first time. Nearly 60 employers attending are from the Rochester area or have operations in the Rochester area.

Many of the attending employers will send RIT alumni to represent them and engage with faculty and student clubs and organizations while on campus.

“This program is a clear reflection of the continued strong demand for the outstanding student talent RIT produces,” Contomanolis said.