The Center for Career Education saw robust participation this year in both the Fall Career Fair and the Engineering Consortium Career Fair. On September 23, the Fall Career Fair was attended by nearly 2,000 students and alumni of all four undergraduate schools as well as eight graduate schools. A wide range of industries were represented by the 134 employers in attendance, including marketing, media, arts, education, finance, and consulting. New this year was a special gallery in the lower level of Lerner focusing on not-for-profit and public service organizations. Employers cheered the "spectacular candidates" and the smooth organization of the event; another company affirmed that it was a "great experience” and that it would be important "to continue to have a presence" at Columbia.

Three hour-long discussion panels highlighted "Careers in Education," "Careers in Sustainable Technology and Energy Policy," and "Working in Start-ups." The alumni panelists have all made impressive innovations in their respective fields, and students had the opportunity to network with them and engage in discussion. Panelists included such Columbia alumni as Paul Orlando, BUS ‘04, founder of Chatfe, a new media startup that was awarded the "Best Business Viability" by Microsoft BizSpark; David Whittemore, CC ‘06, founder of Clothes Horse; and Andrew Yang, LAW ‘99, former President and CEO of Manhattan GMAT.

The 8^th annual Engineering Consortium Career Fair on October 21 was characterized by its focus on employment opportunities in engineering and technology, and its attendance by Columbia students and alumni as well as students from peer institutions. Student and alumni participation this year from The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science increased by nearly 30%, and total attendance including students from other top engineering schools exceeded 1,500. Participants praised the “flawless” execution of the event, and one undergraduate student expressed rather early gratitude for the fact that “alumni are able to participate in Columbia career fairs!"  The preceding evening, 264 Columbia students also attended the Engineering Networking Reception for a more personal opportunity to network with Boeing, Turner, and 45 other employers. These Columbia students made good use of the advance access to the employers and gained perspective on their industries of interest. 

New employers in 2011 included the leading aerospace company Boeing and the rapidly-growing companies Hulu and Twitter; returning employers from information technology, financial engineering, civil engineering, and other industries included Citi, Con Edison, Google, Math for America, the New York City Department of Transportation, Turner Construction Company, and Yahoo! Employers praised the “impressive” degree of student participation and “enjoyed speaking to all the students”; some, however, urged students to include their grade point average on the resume to avoid being filtered out. The Center for Career Education presented its own upcoming spring and summer internship programs aimed at a diverse body of student interests including the Columbia Arts Experience, Columbia Experience Overseas, and the Science Technology Engineering Program.

Both the Fall Career Fair and the Engineering Consortium Career Fair were great successes in 2011, operating on their largest scales to date while maintaining a professional atmosphere. Each included valuable expansions of the industries and organizations represented, and new ways by which students could engage with employers and access available opportunities. The Center for Career Education looks forward to upcoming career fairs and networking events later this academic year and next, and representation will only continue increasing to reflect the varied skills and interests of Columbia students and alumni.