The Fall Job Fair, held in the Convocation Center, has been a popular stop for many Chicago-area employers, ranging from Allstate Insurance to Target, for many years.

Wednesday’s fair was open to all NIU students, but employers were mainly looking for seniors and graduate students searching for career opportunities.

One such student, senior finance major Roman Garcia, attended the fair looking to get into market experience.

Garcia, who will graduate in May, wants to work for a major firm such as Merrill Lynch and eventually receive his master’s degree. He did not set

himself up with many expectations, as this was his first time going to the fair. “If I had expectations and they didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to, then I could be disappointed,” Garcia said.

Garcia prepared by researching some of the companies he had an interest in. He searched the Internet to see if the companies were growing and which company would be a good career choice.

The first company Garcia spoke with was Wells Fargo, which had two tables at the event. He thought the conversation went “pretty well” and the representative was very personable. He said the company would call Garcia for an interview.

Garcia prepared his resumé at a workshop held by the Omega Delta fraternity.

“The workshops really helped me out a lot. I did not have a resumé prepared before that and they helped me put one together,” Garcia said.

After Wells Fargo, he spotted a couple of his fraternity brothers and went to see about their experience.

“I like asking around and getting a feel for how some of the companies are. I like the idea of getting a feel for a person because sometimes it can be a little intimidating just going up to two people about a potential career,” Garcia said.

He talked to a representative from Edward Jones for about 15 minutes. The representative said he was impressed with how well spoken and “on the ball” Garcia was.

“This interview went very well. The representative was very professional and very well spoken. How can you go wrong with a company that has been around for 135 years such as Edward Jones,” Garcia said.

Garcia was flagged down and pulled aside by the second Wells Fargo table and was unwillingly forced into an interview.

“It seemed unprofessional when they went after you like that,” Garcia said.

Dennis Cassens and Chad Nelson, both regional sales coordinators for Aflac, emphasized they look for confidence in a potential employee during an interview. They said personality, body language and whether the interviewee has confidence plays a major role in hiring. They also said the person with the most confidence will most likely get the job.

After talking to more companies, Garcia liked companies that went into depth with what they do and what they are about.

“I really want to be involved in a professional environment. I am going to try to gain about three or four years of market experience then hopefully go for my [master’s],” he said. “But things change and if I find something that I really enjoy, then I could change my mind.”