Career Services will start the 2014-15 recruiting season with two career fairs — today and Wednesday — that will bring approximately 165 employers to campus. 

The fairs will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) Ballroom. The career fair today is open to students from all majors, but Wednesday’s event will be specialized for STEM majors. 

Assistant Vice President of Career Services Russ Coughenour said the current job market for entry-level positions is perfect for students who will soon leave the university. 

“A freshman who is not 100 percent committed to a major, can come to a fair like this and network with companies that are lined up for them and learn about the work in a way they wouldn’t get otherwise,” Coughenour said. 

While he mentioned certain fields such as development of mobile platforms and cyber security, companies are also scouting for future leaders. Many companies have created leadership development programs which, Coughenour said, could potentially get students on the “fast track” to higher level positions. 

“Many companies may put you in a program where they can allow you to work in four or five different areas of their company,” he said. “After an 18-month to two-year period, you’re going to be able to reflect back on the areas you’ve worked in and say ‘I need to be in sales,’ or ‘I need to be in management.’ … So what they’re trying to do is identify future leaders of their company and they want you to get a variety of experiences at their company before you commit to any one type of area.”

Career Services will hold a third career fair Friday at the same time in the MSC Ballroom, specifically for accounting majors.

Coughenour said students who attend any of the career fairs are expected to dress professionally.

“These companies are converging on campus and we hope students will turn out and be ready to talk to companies,” he said. “These companies go from campus to campus to campus. Once they are done with the job fair season, … they formulate their opinion about students at various colleges.”