Fall Career Fair Draws 150 Employers to Campus

More than 150 employers visited campus to network with students during the 2019 Fall Career Fair, including around 40 Champlain alumni.

The Fall Career Fair is hosted by Champlain College Career Collaborative, and students from all class years attend. Students network with both local companies and national organizations to explore full-time jobs, internships, part-time jobs, seasonal jobs, professional development opportunities, employer information, and alumni connections.

“The Career Fair is a great way for students to start building their professional network,” said Professional Writing major Catherine Butrick ’22. “When I attended as a first-year last fall, it was a little intimidating—but also empowering. At the time, I thought ‘career’ equated to ‘job.’ I didn’t realize the long-term networking effect the fair can have on my future. But now I do, and am taking advantage of the opportunities here.”

Students from all class years in the Champlain College Game Studio—Game Design, Art, Production, and Programming majors—networked with game companies from around the nation during the fair.

Game companies present included Disruptor Beam, Insomniac Games, Velan Studios, Vicarious Visions, and more.

Sarah Bell ’14 represented the Williston Police Department. She was an Education major at Champlain, but her career path quickly transitioned into law enforcement. “All the internships I accessed at Champlain gave me experience in the field. And those real-life experiences gave me something to talk about in job interviews.”

Computer Science & Innovation major Victor Alves ’20 was behind the Vermont Space Grant Consortium table talking about his NASA internship this past summer. He worked with Debra Fraser, pictured here, who is an alumna of Champlain College.

Management of Creative Media major Jennifer Benton ’20 shakes the hand of a recruiter from New Breed Marketing during the bustling fair.

While at the fair, we asked employers: “What’s one thing you look for in a prospective employee?” Here are their answers.

Skill set
Positive energy
Initiative (x2)
Flexibility
Resilient personality
Soft skills, including time management
Ability to write well
Motivation
Creativity
Good portfolio (make sure it’s current!)
Communication skills

Students learn these skills through the Champlain College InSight program—our required career preparation and financial education curriculum.

“Career Collaborative and the InSight program helped me gain confidence in networking with employers, get my résumé up to par, build a solid LinkedIn profile, and taught me to trust my background and learning experiences at Champlain,” said Anthony Mahon ’19 // Creative Media, who now works at Scout Digital as an Account Manager.

Mahon attended the fair to represent Scout Digital along with fellow graduate Danielle Hazelton ’19. She majored in Filmmaking and serves as Scout Digital’s Senior Video Producer.

“The Career Collaborative is the reason I can function after graduation: Financially, career management wise, and beyond,” Danielle says.

While the Career Collaborative was not in its current form 35 years ago, the College’s career-driven mission was still the same. Longtime WCAX Channel 3 employees and Champlain graduates, Peg Doolin and Meredith Neary ’83, are proof. They’ve been working at WCAX for 38 and 35 years, respectively, and say they owe their hiring to the connections they made through Champlain’s career center.

Interested in representing your organization and networking with Champlain College students at the 2020 Spring Career Fair? Send an email to careercollaborative@champlain.edu.