Students attending Career Fair '98 gained a glimpse of a job market that is eager to receive them. Representatives from 175 different organizations set up displays for the 17th annual Career Fair last Thursday in Gampel Pavilion, offering students a chance to find out about the many career opportunities awaiting them beyond college.

"A lot of technology-based employers attended," said Sally Becking, associate director of career services. But, she added, there are also more opportunities for liberal arts majors than in previous years. Organizations as diverse as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Goodwin Conservation Center came to this year's fair.

Becking also said that more employers attend UConn's career fair than those at many other colleges.

Organizations doing national searches, such as Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, and local ones, such as the state Department of Corrections, were among those with displays at the numerous booths.

One of the new attractions at this year's fair was Discover ME, a recently formed personality-based recruiting service on the Internet. Discover ME, which works with several large corporations, including some Fortune 500 companies, came to the fair to offer students an online personality test that matches students with employers, based on character traits. UConn is one of just 10 colleges in the nation whose career fair Discover ME has chosen to attend in 1998.

Many corporations were offering more than handshakes to attract students. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. put out refreshments for passers-by; United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney had an engine on display; and a representative of NASA, dressed in a larger-than-life astronaut costume, strolled among the crowd.

Students, many in business suits, had various reasons for attending the fair. Some were looking for a full-time job after graduation, others for an internship during the summer, and others hoped to make contacts for the future.

T.J. Whyte, a freshman majoring in marketing, was dressed casually as he walked through the fair. He was not looking for a job this year, but came to get a glimpse of what the career fair was about. After seeing what some corporations were looking for, White said he thinks majoring in marketing will open many doors for him in the future.

Another student, Chris Bowen, an Asian studies major in his fifth year, was also pleased with the opportunities he found at the Career Fair. Bowen, who is looking for a job in the computer networking field, said he thought representatives were much more eager to speak with him this year than in the past.

Zubair Khan