Many students agree that preparation and connections are vital to obtaining an internship or job, especially with the present slowdown in the national economy. Many students attend the career fairs sponsored by colleges and organizations on the University campus.

Kathleen Barry, junior in ACES, attended the ACES career fair last week because she said many different companies are looking to introduce students to what they do and get an idea of the upcoming workforce.

Barry said she went to visit with the representative from the Midwest Poultry Consortium.

"I am looking to attend their classes in Madison this year," she said. "There were a lot of people who went to see multiple companies to get an idea of where they could potentially find employment in the next year or two."

Shelly Dixson, sophomore in ACES, said she has not attended a career fair yet because she isn't going to graduate until 2006; however, she said she still thinks that it is important that those looking for jobs look now.

"I don't feel I need to until next year," she said. "For those who are job hunting it is important to find employers that seek to hire in their field because it is difficult to find even a summer job," she said.

Another career fair coming up is the Multicultural Career Fair, sponsored by the Office of Minority Student Affairs (OMSA). This fair is held in both the fall and the spring. The fair this fall will be held on Oct. 22 in Illini Union Rooms A, B and C.

According to the OMSA Web site, the career conference is prepared through a cooperative effort between the OMSA office and the Multicultural Students Advisory Committee on Careers (MSACC). The staff then prepares the students for the career fair by offering workshops, seminars on resume preparation, interviewing techniques and dressing appropriately for the career conference.

Otis Williams, an associate director at the OMSA office, said it is important for students to start researching career options early with the numerous job fairs being held on campus. He said he also recommends seeking help from the Career Center and other student organizations.

Williams said students need to zero in on as many opportunities as possible because the economy isn't doing as well as it has in the past.

"(Students) need to get more contacts early to land (the job) they really want," he said. "It's competitive."

Williams also said it is important for freshmen to attend career fairs because they need to learn what goes on at the events, even though they may not receive internships or jobs at that point.

"Even if the students don't get jobs they still need to know what the process (of getting a job) is," he said. "It's very important that they utilize all resources on campus."