Amidst the sea of tables, free food, pamphlets and pens were hopeful, job-seeking students.
Career Services held Career Day in the PMAC Tuesday, where companies from at least 16 states came to meet students of all majors and years.
Mary Belleau, assistant director of Career Services, said getting a head start on having job- related experience is very important for anyone in college.
“The purpose of Career Day is for students to meet with employers for internships, jobs, co-ops, grad school,” Belleau said. “It’s traditionally a meet and greet where [students] can see what’s available related to their majors.”
Although Belleau said it is rare for a company to offer a job on the spot during Career Day, participating in activities like Career Day can give employers a chance to meet potential employees and put a face to a résumé.
“Companies will usually have a date when they come back to the University and do interviews and job offers,” Belleau said.
She said having job-related experience beforehand gives students a competitive advantage over others who do not.
“When you’re just starting out, you’re at the bottom of the totem pole,” Belleau said. “But if you have experience, you don’t stay at the bottom that long.”
      Doris Carther, a clinical instructor with New Orleans Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, said it helps to start visiting Career Day as a freshman or sophomore because it can help a student define what interests him or her.
“If [students] start when they’re a freshman, they can get an idea of the job interviewing process, what an employer is looking for and what their peers are doing,” Carther said. “They get to find out what the industry is all about.”
Carther said often students wait too long to find out what jobs are available and then time becomes short.
“They can make a more informed decision if they start early,” Carther said.
Jacob Ankeny, an ISDS senior and intern for Target, said coming to Career Day can help a student get familiar with the interviewing process.
“Some people come up and don’t know what to say,” Ankeny said. “It’s better if they come in knowing what they want.”
Ankeny said confidence is something he looks for in a student and showing interest in the company is more impressive than a GPA.
“I look for someone who is enthusiastic with a good handshake,” Ankeny said. “We want someone who wants to learn more and asks lots of questions.”
Nadia Abich, an advertising senior, said going to Career Day before her senior year helped her prepare for when she would meet with employers.
“It helped me know how to dress and what to bring,” Abich said.
She said Career Prep at Career Services also helped with getting her résumé to potential employers.
Shannon Sivils, also an advertising senior, said she heard about Career Day through friends and sees the benefits of meeting with different companies.
“If you show your name and face now, [companies] will be more inclined to talk to you later and offer you a job,” Sivils said.
Belleau said students can go online at www.lsu.edu/career and register in TigerTRAK to get more information about jobs available in their majors.
Students also can upload résumés on TigerTRAK to send to companies and set up interviews.