One sure sign that warm weather is on the way is the annual NIU Spring Internship Fair, which is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the Convocation Center.
Seventy employers from the Chicago area will take part in this year’s fair, said Diane Hart, campus and employer relations specialist with Career Services.
They include: Archer Daniels Midland Company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Bureau, Discovery Center Museum, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Kraft Foods, Six Flags Great America and the U.S. Marine Corps.
A list of all the employers is available online.
“This is a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students,” Hart said. “Many of the internships are paying positions. A small portion is for non-paying positions, but all of them will give students valuable experience in their fields of study.”
Students who obtain internships also will receive real-life work experience, a good selling point for résumés and job interviews, she said.
“NIU students have a great reputation of being good, energetic interns and employees,” Hart said. “Many employers look forward to working with them.”
To ensure they make a good first impression, many of the hundreds of students who attend the fair will first attend two prep workshops. The first will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the Campus Life Building, Room 235. A second workshop will be held the following day from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center.
At the workshops, students will hear effective interviewing techniques as well as ways to make their résumés stand out from the crowd.
Students who attend the fair are urged to bring enough résumés for all of their interview sessions and to leave one with the Internship Fair candidate registration table to be used in place of filling out a registration form.
A photocopy service is not available at the Convocation Center, and students are urged to bring extra copies of other documents they plan to give employers.
Additional interviewing and résumé Internship Fair Preparation Tips can be found on the Career Services website.
by Gerard Dziuba
