UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After two years of virtual and hybrid options, the 2022 Fall Career Days will be held completely in person. The fair will take place daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday, Sept. 13, through Friday, Sept. 16, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The event will provide students and recent alumni the opportunity to engage with more than 550 employers from all over the country and across a variety of industries.
Employers are eager to get back to campus and recruit Penn Staters, and registrations have reached pre-covid numbers.
“The University-wide Fall Career Days is thrilled to be able to have career days in-person again,” said Ashley Citarella, associate director of operations, programs and events at Career Services. “The majority of Penn State students and employers that recruit Penn State students prefer to have it in person.”
The 2022 Fall Career Days will be scheduled as follows:
- Sept. 13 — non-technical full-time
- Sept. 14 — internship and co-op
- Sept. 15 — technical full-time
- Sept. 16 — interviewing
Students are encouraged to research companies attending the fair and the positions they are recruiting for in advance of the fair. Some organizations only attend one day, even if they are looking for students from a wide variety of majors and colleges. Students can use the following link to determine which companies are seeking their qualifications and which days the companies are attending.
Most companies require students complete an online application, while some make their application available prior to the fair. Students can apply to these jobs via Nittany Lion Careers to kickstart the process.
The Symplicity Jobs and Careers mobile app is another tool students can use to navigate Fall Career Days. The app is available for IOS and Android, and a link for it can be found in the Penn State Go app. By logging into the app with Penn State credentials, students can view event information, including attending organizations and maps.
Students are encouraged to come to Fall Career Days with questions for the companies they plan to visit and several copies of an updated resumé. Those in need of resumé help can make an appointment or attend drop-in hours at the Bank of America Career Services Center. Information on resumé building can also be found here.
In addition to resumé help, Career Services offers free professional headshots from noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and noon to 3 p.m. on Thursdays this semester. The service is offered on a walk-in basis, including the week of Fall Career Days.
Penn State’s Professional Attire Closet is open for appointments and drop-in hours in advance of the fair, but it will be closed during the week of Fall Career Days due to staffing shortages. It will reopen at its typical hours the following week.
Students of all years and interest areas are encouraged to attend Fall Career Days.
“We strongly encourage students to take advantage of Fall Career Days and join us over at the BJC, regardless of where they are in their academic journeys,” Citarella said. “Juniors and seniors tend to attend the most, looking for internships or full-time jobs, but we encourage first-year students, sophomores, graduate students and alumni to come over. It’s a great way to network and get to know organizations. Oftentimes, a connection will pop up that a student doesn’t expect and lead to a great opportunity.”
Fall Career Days is a collaboration between Career Services — a unit of Penn State Student Affairs — and college career offices. Students can find additional information about preparing for the career fair at the Fall Career Days website or the Career Services website.