According to a recent survey, employers are planning to hire 11 percent more college graduates than previous years.

The Career and Internship Job Fair is one resource that can help students seek out employers. Job fairs tare held in both the fall and the spring.

“This event is open for everyone, freshman through seniors with all majors welcome. There will also be a broad range of opportunities available,” said Megan Odom, Career Center director.

“We put together prep seminars that help answer students’ questions about resumes, dress attire and give advice to students on how to prepare for the questions the potential employers might ask them,” Odom said.

The employers attending the fairs can be viewed on the Career Center’s homepage which is updated hourly.

“Some are looking for internships, some are looking for full-time hires and some are looking for both,” she said.

To easily identify companies that are only looking to hire interns, a yellow balloon is attached to booths so students can go directly seek out internship opportunities,

The company Aerotek Inc., for example, has had a lot of success hiring Chico State graduates in particular and have attended the job fair event every semester for years, she said.

About five Chico State graduates get hired to work for Aerotek Inc. per year, Odom said.

This event is a great opportunity for students to talk to professionals in the career they are interested in, she said.

Geoff Hull, Chico State business administration and communication studies graduate, had a job lined up for him upon graduation. He attended one a 2015 Career and Internship Job Fairs prior to his graduation and was successfully hired by the Target Distribution Center in Woodland. He is a group leader whose responsibilities include overseeing and managing a team, Odom said.

Hull learned valuable information from the preparation seminar prior to the Career and Internship Job Fair.

“It was all about learning about how career fairs worked— From what to wear, how to shake someone’s hand, what questions to ask recruiters and how to present yourself professionally,” Hull said.

He attended the career fair last month as a recruiter to seek out students from Chico State to work for Target. One thing Hull said he noticed was how unprepared the students were.

“Being prepared with smart, well-researched questions can make a very memorable impression on a recruiter, which is exactly the goal of attending these career fairs as students,” Hull said. “They should be using the amazing resources available to them, [like] the Career Center.”

The Career Center surveys all students at graduation and follows up with students six months after to check up on their progress and see if they found a job yet, Odom said.

“Thirty percent of the students we called got back to us and of that 30 percent, we can look up exactly where they got hired,” she said.

One thing students may not know is that they can use the Career Center services throughout their lives. The Career Center encourages all Chico State students, whether they are currently attending or not, to take advantage of its services at any time.

In addition to the fair, there will also be a seminar where Lewis A. Lukens, ambassador of the U.S. Department of State, will provide information on career and internships in international diplomacy. All majors are welcome to the event.

“These events are very career-focused and definitely one of those steps students should take to learn about different career paths,” Odom said. “Even ones they didn’t know about.”

Sabrina Salvatore can be reached at [email protected] or @ssalvatore09 on Twitter.