Liberal Arts Talent Shines at CLA Career Fair
The 2023 CLA Internship & Career Fair was a resounding success! On September 28, Huntington Bank Stadium was packed with liberal arts students eager to connect with 84 employers and explore volunteer, internship, and job opportunities. This year 800 students attended the fair, which is a 27% increase in attendance from last year. CLA Career Services reported student numbers returning to pre-covid levels of engagement and expressed gratitude for continued high participation from employer partners.
Out of the 800 students that attended the fair, 98% were CLA students. Seniors took the lead in attendance being 34.2%, juniors followed at 22.6%, sophomores at 22.2%, first-years at 16.8%, and graduate students at 3.3%. A majority of the students who attended were undeclared majors, psychology majors, or economic majors.
CLA Career Services hosted multiple events to help students prepare for the career fair, including drop-ins, headshots, resume reviews, and webinars. 22.9% of students who attended the fair also attended a CLA Career Services preparation event.
Employers at the fair – which ranged from Target to the Minnesota Twins to Sherwin Williams — shared positive feedback about their experience. 38 of the 206 employer representatives were UMN alumni.
Employers shared their CLA Internship & Career Fair experiences:
“I have been beyond impressed with this fair. From the clear communication leading up to the event, to the amazing support and organization day of! Students were flowing through the fair all day. We had great interactions with so many great students and future employees. This was well worth our time!”
- Natalie Polaschek, MN Historical Society
“No other place have I had the opportunity to meet such a diverse and well rounded student body. I am so impressed not just with the traffic today, but the overall quality of the candidates. Thank you for the opportunity to be here!”
- John C. Quarles, IFC National Marketing
“Very well prepared students, professional and articulate. Many had done research beforehand on our program, which I found quite impressive. Also, each resume I was given was clean, balanced and very well formatted, something I don't always see in my applicants.”
- Lacey Piotter-Jenkins, MN DFL
