According to the U.S. Labor Department, nearly 40 million Americans — more than 500,000 in Connecticut alone — have filed for unemployment claims over the past three months due to COVID-19.  Today, one of four people in America have no job. This is the job market the Class of 2020 at Eastern Connecticut State University finds itself, and the University is working hard to give those graduates a competitive edge in their job search.

On May 20-21, more than 200 Eastern students met 90 different employers during the University’s first-ever Virtual Careers Fair. The fair was organized by the Center for Internships and Career Development (CICD), which collaborated with JobConnected.com and Western Connecticut State University. JobConnected designed the format for the event and provided support and supervision during the virtual fair to ensure that everyone had a good experience.

Students learned how to prepare for the virtual career fair by watching a video that included employers who offered career development services, engaged in career coaching and offered job search strategies such as resume writing, interviewing and tips on how to prepare for graduate school — all via video chat rooms. “It was truly exciting to see so many students participate and take advantage of the virtual fair, learning how to gain easy access to all of our online career tools and much more,” said CICD Director Cliff Marrett.

“By speaking to such a diverse group of employers through video chat, these students were able to gain valuable face time with employers and ask questions in real time to company representatives about employment opportunities they most wanted,” said JobConnected founder Mike Oelbaum.

Business Administration major Eric Oppong ’20 of Manchester attended the virtual careers fair and wants to pursue a career in human resources as a recruiter in a corporate environment. He prefers to introduce himself to a live person with a smile and a handshake to show employers his confidence, skill set, talents and personality. He believes people can learn more about him that way. But he said the virtual fair was an important opportunity during the global pandemic.

“These days, there is nothing better. The virtual fair is a great way to network, especially during these difficult times, to find opportunities for full-time jobs or co-ops to gain more experience.” 

For more information on virtual meetings the Center for Internships and Career Development provides, visit https://www.easternct.edu/career/index.html