The joint Career Fair was organized by students from the undergraduate group Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE) and the graduate group Industrial Engineering Graduate Student Organization (IEGSO), assisted by IE Industry Relations Director Dave Kotterman.

Representatives from CNO Financial, Cummins, Deloitte, Eaton, Halliburton, Ingersoll Rand/Trane, IU Health, Kroger, Lilly, Medline, PepsiCo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Southwire, St. Onge, and Tesla attended and presented information sessions. The student groups also organized a photo booth where students could have professional headshots taken. The fair extended from Grissom Hall's Peter Wang Student Excellence Center throughout the entire first floor of the building. 

"This year's career fair was bigger and better than ever, featuring 16 companies with the majority being Fortune 500," said senior Annika Mabe, IISE Ambassador Director. "Grissom was packed with students eager to talk to these prestigious companies. Students were able to attend info sessions to get to know more about the companies and their offered positions, get professional headshots, talk one-on-one with recruiters, and some even got interview slots - all before IR even started.

"The IE career fair was the largest our department has ever organized," said graduate student Shounak Joshi, IEGSO Academic Chair. "We had big names like Tesla, Cummins and Deloitte, which the students were very excited to talk to. [The] IE career fair was the only fair that Tesla had registered for this time, and they were overwhelmed with the student response. They are conducting interviews throughout this week from the students they have shortlisted."

"The IE Career Fair may not be as big as Industrial Roundtable at Purdue, but it sure packs a punch!" said Jenn Guerin, Talent Acquisition Partner-Early Talent at Ingersoll Rand. "We interacted with over 70 impressive and talented Industrial and Systems Engineers at this event for consideration for multiple operations and technical sales opportunities within Ingersoll Rand (in just three hours!). These students were prepared, inquisitive, and it was much easier to get 1:1 time with these candidates in an intimate indoor setting than a larger career fair format; many of our interviews scheduled in the days to follow were of students we first talked to at this event. This is a highly recommended way for employers interested in Industrial Engineers to engage with the tip of the spear of that talent at Purdue."

Kotterman commended the IISE and IEGSO student leadership for organizing this growing event. "Their hard work over the summer definitely paid off as company and student participation was at an all-time high," Kotterman said. "This is a wonderful service they provide companies looking specifically to recruit industrial engineering interns and soon-to-be-IE graduates!"

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu