Izzy Brann discusses the positives she gained from this years Autumn Careers Fair.
This last week saw the return of Loughborough’s flagship careers event, the Autumn Graduate and Placement Fair. As the largest university careers showcase in the country, the event boasted over a hundred stalls and exhibitors over Monday and Tuesday and played host to thousands of students. From grad schemes to work experience, and from ASOS to Airbus, the University laid on a feast of career options, inclusive of all our schools and including the biggest brands available today.
The fair began at 2pm on Monday running to 7pm and again opened up on Tuesday from 11am to 4pm. As soon as the doors began to open there was a sizeable crowd, leaving me, someone who wandered over after a lecture, at the back of a massive queue. So, take note, arrive about 10 minutes earlier next time! That being said though, the queue moved quickly and I was ushered into the Hall in a matter of moments, with a floor map in my hand and a booklet under my arm.
To be perfectly honest, as someone who is not planning on doing a placement and is in second year, I attended the event expecting to benefit very little and my main incentive being freebies. Yet, my expectations were exceeded. I still achieved my goal of free pens and notebooks (even bagging a spork!), however, I also ended up having a serious chat with various companies, whom I’d never considered for a career. Everyone I met clearly loved their job and I discovered an awful lot about the alternative options I could use to further my career, including work shadowing schemes and internships, finding myself truly inspired.
The careers network were also on hand to offer advice in making the most of the fair and approaching the search for jobs, meanwhile the Enterprise team set up their station to provide professional photographs for the budding professional.
From my perspective, the event was a huge success and it was certainly very popular. So whether you need some advice from the key players of industry or want to get a professional headshot taken for LinkedIn, I would happily recommend the fair.
Featured image by: Amie Woodyatt
