Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

HTM Career Day Fair open to all Isenberg students for first time

The University of Massachusetts’ annual Hospitality and Tourism Management Career Day Fair is currently scheduled to have a record-breaking 77 companies present, each looking for potential interns or employees.

The event is held in the Campus Center Auditorium from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 4. A reception for seniors in the Marriott Center from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is set to follow.

“This year is the largest HTM career day at UMass,” said Brianna Cole, a junior hospitality and tourism and marketing major, who is also the Marketing Chair on the HTM Career Day Committee.

The fair will feature recruiters from management companies, restaurants, hotels, country clubs and other fields.

“Basically we have companies from across the whole industry,” Cole said.

Hotels recognized throughout the world, such as Marriott, Hyatt and Mohegan Sun, will also be represented at the fair.

Over previous years, over 500 students have annually attended career day. However, in those years, it had only been open to hospitality and tourism majors. But this year, it expanded.

“We opened it up to the whole Isenberg School (of Management),” Cole said.

Students who go to the fair will be able to meet recruiters and seek opportunities to further their careers.

Of the students attending the fair, “Over half will leave with an interview or job opportunity,” Cole said. While experience is important in these fields, the amount of experience necessary varies from each recruiter.

“They just want people who are eager to learn and work in the industry,” Cole added.

Cole has attended the fair the previous two years looking for career opportunities. Although she was intimidated at first, she realized she impressed recruiters by acting like herself. Last year, she was able to get an internship at Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

The Hotel and Tourism Management Career Day Fair is entirely student-run, and is designed by a committee of students from different concentrations within Isenberg. It is the largest student-run career fair on the East Coast.

“We rely a lot on our volunteers to run the event,” Cole said.

The hospitality industry, which has often relied on new employees entering the workforce, has seen a smaller supply of new workers recently. This has resulted in more of a focus by these companies to recruit new workers

Stuart Foster can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Stuart_C_Foster.

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