Cal Poly’s spring career fair goes virtual

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - It’s a challenging time for college students entering the workforce amid the coronavirus pandemic. To help guide students, Cal Poly’s Career Services has moved all of their resources online, including this week's spring career fair.

The virtual event is taking place April 29-30.

Executive Director of Career Services at Cal Poly, Eileen Buecher said, "We made decisions early on to virtualize all our services and go live." Buecher and her team worked to reimagine the career fair on the Zoom platform, to recreate the in-person experience.

For some Cal Poly students, their internships and job offers have been cancelled or postponed, particularly within the hard hit industries, such as retail, entertainment and hospitality.

However, 66 companies are registered for this week's event, including Consolidated Electrical Distributors. Division Manager, Patrick O'Rourke said Cal Poly is one of his top schools for recruiting and advises students to not give up during this difficult time. “I think most companies even if they are freezing their hiring right now, are still going to be interested in talking to you. And as soon as they start to ramp things up again, you’ll probably be one of the first people they talk to," said O'Rourke.

Right now, career counselors are seeing more postings for internships, which should not be overlooked.

“There are a lot of generations of Cal Poly students who started their careers in a recession," said Buecher. “You just become more resourceful.”

For more information on Cal Poly's Virtual Career Fair and other helpful resources, visit their website.