Engineers from all disciplines dressed in ties, shirts, suits and shinning shoes this week to look for internships and jobs after graduation at the 18th Annual Engineering Career Fair on North Campus.
- Paul Wong
- TOM FELDKAMP/Daily
Students explore their options at the 18th Annual Engineering Career Fair on North Campus yesterday afternoon.
ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Boeing, UBS Warburg, Applied Materials, Merck and many other giant multinational corporations are among the 150 companies that participate in the career fair, which is sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi and the National Engineering Honor Society.
Most of them are hiring both full-time and intern positions in Michigan despite the sluggish economy and the slump in the stock market, recruiters said. “We are definitely recruiting in Michigan,” Deutsche Bank recruiter Bobby Roy said.
Deutsche, which handles many different kinds of business in addition to investment banking, is going to hire as many new employees as last year, he added.
Intel, the No. 1 supplier of microprocessors for personal computers, is actively recruiting and promoting its rotation program on campus, Intel recruiter Michael Forward said.
“Intel is always committed in recruiting because we invest for the future. … When the economy turns around, it is the best position to succeed,” Forward said.
Apple hired 130 interns nationwide last summer and it is likely to have the same number of interns in the coming summer. Apple recruiter and University alum Steve Cheng said more than 10 percent of them were from Michigan.
“If the products here are not good, we would have gone somewhere else,” Cheng said. The talents and ability of University of Michigan students are the reasons Apple returns to campus every year, he added.
“Michigan is one of the most elite institutes that we recruit from,” Caterpillar recruiter Mark Guzzardo said. Caterpillar, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy construction equipment.
Due to the reputation and high ranking of the engineering school, previous job fair experiences and the alumni relationship, Michigan is the target school of many big firms, the event co-chairs said.
“We have no difficulties in finding companies to come to the career fair,” said Engineering senior Melissa Wu, one of the four career fair co-chairs.
“Other than job finding, it is also a learning experience for the students,” career fair co-chair Evita Nedelkoska said.
Tons of information is available to students from different companies in the career fair and that helps students to explore what are their real interests, she added.
“It is good to have resources like this,” Engineering junior Rahul Sathe said. Sathe, an Ohio native, was offered a few interviews by the companies at the career fair. “They won’t go to schools except MIT, Georgia Tech and other target schools. … This makes it worth it to pay the out-of-state tuition.”
Some companies have started interviewing students while many others are coming back in mid-October to select students for full-time positions.