For Michelle Tortolani, engineering director at Harris Corporation in Herndon, Va., the George Mason University Spring Career Fair was the place to be.
Tortolani said she has, perhaps, five George Mason systems engineering graduates working in her department. And because Mason’s program is “very aligned with the systems engineering work we do at Harris,” she said, “when they hired in, I could really use them right away.”
“They have a good educational background,” Tortolani added. “That was one of the reasons I was pushing our HR people to come and work this [career fair].”
The fair, held Feb. 17-18 in Dewberry Hall, was a record-breaking success. More than 1,500 students showed up the first day, which focused on science, technology, engineering and math jobs. Another 1,300 showed up the second day, which was focused on business, public service and non-tech jobs. The overall attendance of 2,853 was 16 percent more than 2015.
More than 200 companies were represented.
“We consistently find high quality and extremely talented candidates at [Mason],” said Sandy Hindman, lead recruiter for MetroStar Systems of Reston, Va., an IT consulting firm founded by Mason alumni Ali Manouchehri and Robert Santos.
MetroStar Systems has hired 25 Mason graduates, Hindman said.
“There’s a diverse skill set we look for,” she said. “We look for people who are extremely passionate, who are very open, who are always looking to bring new ideas to the company, and that’s something we found specifically here.”
Li Lu, who in 2014 graduated from Mason with a master’s degree in psychology/ human factors and applied cognition, got her job as a user experience architect at MetroStar Systems after attending the 2013 career fair.
“You get a chance to talk to an employer directly,” Lu said of the fair. “You get to know the company.”
And companies get their all-important first impression of potential employees.
“The quality of student from here has been great,” said Katie Agnos, a recruiter for Northrop Grumman. “They’re motivated. They take the curriculum we’re looking for. [Mason] really wants them to get exposure to the industry and teach them what it will be like in a professional experience. We know when we get the students, they’re ready to go.”
“Mason seeks to be an economic driver for our region, and we’re seeing that work pay off,” said Stephen Monroe, communications and marketing coordinator for Mason’s University Career Services. “Mason has made a name for itself. As time goes on, we only expect better things for both our students and the employers we serve.”