Dressed in business wear and brandishing a resumé, Carolyn DiSandro paused Tuesday to take in the scene at the opening day of Fall Career Days at the Bryce Jordan Center.
She made the trip to University Park from her campus, Penn State Abington, to attend the event.
"I'm impressed," DiSandro (senior-business management and marketing) said. "This looks very promising."
She was among the large crowd of students who browsed displays on the main floor and concourse at the BJC, looking for potential employers among the large selection of booths. Many of the elaborate booths featured free gifts to draw in students.
Graduates face a tough job market: With the national unemployment rate nearing 10 percent and 540,000 people already without jobs in Pennsylvania, students are coming out in droves for Penn State's annual fall job fair.
The fair will also continue today and tomorrow from 1 to 6 p.m. Today's line-up will feature businesses offering internships, and Thursday's will highlight companies offering full-time technical positions.
Companies that came to the BJC to recruit took notice of the large number of students in attendance. Volunteers said they saw more business administration, human relations and legal relations students than those from other majors.
Crystal Maki, a recruiter for Eat'n Park restaurants, said a lot of the students in attendance definitely knew what they were hoping to find at Career Days.
"For example, most of the students stopping by our booth are looking for jobs in the restaurants," she said. "They knew we could offer that."
Students scanned themselves into the event using their ID+ cards and were given name tags featuring their major to make it easier for them to connect with the companies. Signs directed them to the concourse and helped them find specific businesses.
Ebiti Ikpeme (freshman-premedicine), a volunteer worker at the event, said the turnout was greater than she thought it would be.
"There were people waiting in line outside before it started," she said.
Daniel Bragdon (senior-finance), another attendee, said his ideal job was close to home -- literally.
"I'm kind of looking for a job near my house," he said, adding that a job with a defense company was also ideal.
DiSandro said she received several interview offers, and was glad she made the long trip to State College.
"It was worth it, definitely," she said.
