Careers & Student Outcomes

Recruiters from the U.S. and Overseas Target Stevens Talent at Spring 2019 Career Fair

More than 120 companies gathered at Stevens Institute of Technology for the university’s Spring 2019 Career Fair on February 13.

This annual rite of spring, along with the Stevens Career Fair in the fall, has led to career-paving internships and full-time positions for both undergraduate and graduate students at Stevens in a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, finance, insurance, engineering, construction, healthcare, aerospace and transportation. 

“It’s always a great experience to network and talk to industry professionals about opportunities. I’ve had a lot of success getting interviews from these career fairs in the past,” said mechanical engineering senior Julianne Depardieu, who is graduating in May and looking for full-time employment.

A female student on the left looks down at a business card while two female recruiters, on the right, look on

Companies with an outstanding record of hiring Stevens graduates were well represented at this year’s event, many of whom sent Stevens alumni to scout for top talent.

Rebecca Pianese ’14 M.S. ’16, a design engineer at Boswell Engineering, has been actively doing her part to continue her alma mater’s strong connection to Boswell. She’s been returning to Castle Point as a recruiter every year since graduation. 

“We actually hired a Stevens graduate six months ago, someone with an environmental engineering background,” she revealed. “We’re looking forward to hiring more people from Stevens. And the students we’re seeing today are so smart and prepared, and have great communication skills.”

The technology focus of a Stevens degree was a magnet for a number of companies looking to expand into the digital space.

Mega retailer Walmart was in attendance, not to fill positions for its bricks and mortar stores, but to find highly-skilled candidates for full-time and internship opportunities within its expansive e-commerce portfolio, which now includes Jet.com, Hayneedle.com, MooseJaw, Shoes.com, ModCloth and Bonobos.

Alison Smith, a talent acquisition manager for internship programs at SiriusXM, says her company’s focus on technology and data is what’s driving a large portion of recruitment at her company.

A male recruiter in a gray pinstriped suit, who is standing on the right, speaks to a male student wearing a blue suit, who is facing him across the table

“We’re seeing a big shift in what we’re looking for. We just acquired Pandora a couple of weeks ago, which is very technology-driven. We have a lot of internship opportunities for students with any number of majors, such as analytics, statistics, computer science and even electrical engineering, depending on the part of our business,” she said.  

While Smith didn’t have far to travel to get to Stevens – SiriusXM’s headquarters is located just across the Hudson River, in midtown Manhattan – the same couldn’t be said for Calum McBurney, a talent acquisition specialist for AquaQ Analtyics, who traveled across the Atlantic in order to meet with “high-quality candidates” from Stevens. 

“We’re looking to fill financial software developer roles. So graduate-level candidates with backgrounds in quantitative finance, financial engineering and computer science are very relevant to what we do,” said McBurney, who flew in from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

AquaQ’s budding relationship with Stevens began when it found success with Stevens recruits last December, he explained.

“That’s why we’re back – the caliber of students at Stevens is very high. They have very high GPAs across the board, relevant hands-on coursework and great work experiences.” 

A female student on the left is listening while a male recruiter from Scholastic, standing on the right, goes over her resume

Lynn Insley, executive director of the Stevens Career Center, says employers return to Stevens’ career fairs year after year because Stevens graduates are proven top-tier talent. 

“Our graduates contribute to their companies in significant ways and provide long-term value. It’s wonderful to see so many familiar faces, as we value our long-term relationships with recruiters who consistently come to our career fairs. We’re always looking to build relationships with new employers as well, and make every effort to accommodate them, whether they’re based in the U.S., Europe or Asia. The broad-based education that Stevens students receive prepares them for the global marketplace and the companies who recruit from Stevens reflect the far-reaching impact of a Stevens degree,” said Insley.  

The next Stevens Career Fair will be held September 2019. Companies looking to recruit Stevens students should contact the Stevens Career Center at 201.216.5166.

To learn more about student outcomes, visit Success After Stevens.