Students looking for a career were letdown at the CUNY Graduate Center on Friday, October 8 when they found out that the Journalism Career Fair was only offering internships.
The Journalism Career Fair was designed to help students find a job in their desired field. CUNY described the event as a place where you could “attend workshops by representatives from print, broadcast and new media companies to gather insight on trade craft and career entry and advancement strategies.” Students were given the chance to talk to representatives from several different organizations, but they were only able to find opportunities for possible internship and not long-term careers.
“This year’s fair was surprising. In the past, there were workshops and round-tables within the fair that gave it a different feel,” said 21-year-old Taneish Hamilton, a recent Brooklyn College graduate who received a Bachelor’s in Journalism. “While the fair was helpful to most, the companies didn’t offer jobs, but focused mainly on internships, which didn’t even pay at all.”
Some of the companies that were present at the event included the New York Times, 1010 WINS, BRONXNET, City Limits, Legislative Gazette, Queens Courier, Sirius XM Radio and Village Voice. Some students voiced complaints that these companies were only looking to fill a certain niche.
“As somebody who’s looking to start a career or a simple job in the media industry, I was disappointed to see that many of these companies were offering only internships. The fact that radio stations weren’t looking to hire people for talent, only for sales was very sad,” said a dismayed Alex DiBlasi, 23-year-old Musicology major who will be receiving his Master’s from the Conservatory of Music in May 2011.
However, not all of the participants were dissatisfied with the career fair. Some students came to this event only hoping to find an internship that would serve as a college credit or to fill a much-needed spot on their resume for a potential future job position.
“The career fair gave everyone a great opportunity to network with companies and receive information they needed to move forward with an internship or job. There were many companies at the career fair that I could see myself working for in the future,” said Danielle Saleh, a 20-year-old Journalism major. “I was glad to speak with representatives from each company and get the information that I needed. I also got a chance to meet other students who were at the career fair. There weren’t as many companies as last year’s fair, but it was still beneficial, and I enjoyed it.”
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