The combined undergrad-graduate student event took place the night before Purdue's Industrial Roundtable (IR) began. 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.

The IE-only event has grown from 12 companies in 2016 to 16 companies in 2017 to 48 companies this fall. 

"The incredible success and growth of the IE career fair reflects the talent that our students possess and is a testament to large value that employers place on hiring Purdue IEs," said Alex Kortepeter, IISE President. "Since the creation of the IE Career Fair, there is no end in sight to its yearly growth."

"The career fair was extremely well-thought-out and thorough," said Shane Addington, IISE Ambassador Director. "The companies all seemed very excited and from those whom I talked to, it was a very positive experience. Not only the quantity, but the quality of companies was outstanding!" 

"Leading the organizational process for the event was definitely an eye-opening experience, and it made me realize that Purdue IE students are in high demand due to our exceptional and unique skill set," said Aruzhan Bazylzhanova, IISE Professional Development Chair.

The presence of our students at top-notch companies is exponentially increasing, and the fact that we had triple the number of companies since last year is unequivocal proof of that.”

Kotterman commended the IISE and IEGSO student leadership for organizing this growing event. "[IISE Professional Development Chairs] Aruzhan Bazylzhanova and Rahul Lal led a large group of committed students and all pitched in and did an incredible job," he said. "Their hard work has paid off in an all-time high of company and student participation. They provide a wonderful service for their fellow IEs and deliver to companies a platform where 100% of the candidates possess their targeted skill set."

Representatives from Allegion, Belden, Caterpillar, CME Group Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Co.,Conagra Brands, Cummins, Deloitte, Domtar, Eaton Corp., Eli Lilly and Co., enVista LLC, Equifax, ETC Inc., Ferguson Enterprises, Exelead, Focal Point LLC, Gentex Corp., Halliburton, Hertz Corp., Ingersoll Rand - Trane, Innovative-IDM, IU Health, Johnson & Johnson, Kohl's Dept. Stores Inc., Kroger Co., Land O' Lakes, Lockheed Martin, LMI AEROSPACE, Medline Industries, Messer Construction, Metalsa, Nestle Waters North America, Nexxt Spine LLC, Niagara Bottling LLC, Nucor Steel, Pace Dairy (Kroger), PepsiCo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Prysmian Group, SRG Global, Stanley Black & Decker, United Airlines, United Technologies Corp., UPS, U.S. Army Armament Research and Engineering Center (ARDEC), and Whirlpool Corp. attended.

Companies interested in attending the joint IISE-IEGSO Spring 2019 Career Fair should contact Purdue IE Industry Relations Director Dave Kotterman at dkotter@purdue.edu or 765-496-0565.

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu