Career Service’s Internship Fair offered students the chance to meet with prospective employers in a familiar environment on Tuesday.

The Convocation Center was transformed into an Internship Fair with more than 90 businesses on hand to meet with students and discuss possible internships.

More than 900 students attended. Three student organizations were on hand, their participants looking to connect with fellow members and try establishing relationships with companies.

Career Services’ staff hosted the event and was still trying to help students make the best possible impressions they could at the fair. A projector screen in the lobby area played a PowerPoint presentation filled with tips and suggestions. Students were also offered the chance to take a picture in their professional gear for LinkedIn accounts.

Daniel Bichel, junior computer science major, was looking for an internship in networking or systems administration. Bickel has been to a number of internship fairs and noticed a difference this year.

“It’s more spread out than some of the other ones I’ve been to,” Bichel said. “It’s roomy. There is not a whole lot of congestion and the employers here are all pretty nice.”

John Hill, director of online services for WNIJ, DeKalb’s Natonal Public Radio affiliate station, was at the fair looking for potential interns. Although the company wasn’t offering any financial compensation, Hill said students could apply concepts learned in the classroom and get a feel for the radio/news business. Hill added that the internships weren’t just for journalism majors.

“We’re looking for people who have interest in a professional career in journalism, news most specifically, though there are a lot of areas at the radio station that lend themselves to people with various talents,” Hill said. “We have a development operation that is essentially fundraising and marketing, before it hits the air there is production and programming, and with the rise of social media and its import, there is also an Internet services internship.”

Mary Myers, director of campus and employer relations for Career Services, put the Internship Fair together and discussed some of the features recently developed by Career Services.

“For students who have never been to a fair we offer observation tours,” Myers said. “They go up into one of the skyboxes with a guide and talk about the process.”

During the observation tours, the guide explained the fair’s process to the student; every detail was discussed, from how to shake hands and introduce yourself, to how much eye contact should be made.

According to Myers, new interview sessions have been designed to help students bolster their skills and there is an online interview training program that anyone with a webcam can take advantage of.

Junior psychology major Amanda Villie talked to several companies and was rewarded with interviews.

“I was kind of nervous, but it’s a lot calmer and not as intense as I thought it would be,” Villie said.

An internship fair novice, Villie was intimidated by the thought of talking to prospective employers and considered getting help before her interviews.

“Really research the company and its people,” Myers said for students who want to attend future internship fairs and hope to get hired. “They want you to want to work for them, and when a student comes up to them and says ‘What are you hiring for?’ that doesn’t really say, ‘I want to work for you I know all about your company and I’ve done my homework.’”