More employers and students than ever before attended the 12th Annual All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair. The event, a highlight of the Earth Institute’s Professional Development Program, took place on Friday, February 27, 2015. According to Mike Aquino, a student in the Sustainability Management program, “employers were interested in recruiting, not just telling students about their companies. I felt that I definitely made some connections that could become job leads.”
The fair brought in a record number of recruiters and students, making it the largest and most successful fair in the event’s 12-year history. Typically the fair attracts 70-75 recruiters from the public, private and nonprofit sectors and approximately 1,600 students. This year, 85 recruiters registered for the opportunity to meet with more than 2,000 students and alumni from the Ivy League partner universities.
“The All Ivy Fair has been a great opportunity for our agency to connect with some of the best, brightest, and driven students. Their preparation is a testament to them taking their education seriously,” said Byron Williams with the U.S. Peace Corps.
The Earth Institute hosts the fair each spring, in partnership with Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. The purpose of the fair is to allow employers to connect with candidates, while providing a space for students to network and explore different career paths. The fair provided Terisa Thurman, a sustainability management student, “the unique opportunity to speak to recruiters and learn about their work environment.”
Organizations such as Accenture, Brown & Caldwell, Estee Lauder, Unilever and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attended for the first time, joining return recruiters from Cadmus, ENVIRON International Corp., Roux Associates, MTA NYC Transit, and the Department of Environmental Protection.
Treva Spencer with United Water attended the fair for the first time this year and was impressed by the caliber and passion of attendees. “The All-Ivy Career event is a great way to meet a diverse number of students who have an interest in being a part of change they want to see in the world,” she said. For a full list of registered recruiters visit the website.
Several alumni from Columbia’s Sustainability Management and MPA in Environmental Science and Policy programs, some of whom got their own jobs as a result of the fair, returned to campus as recruiters. Matt Codner (SUMA ’13), director of operations at Genesys Global LLC, returned for a second time, while Curtis Probst (MPA-ESP ’14), managing director at the Rocky Mountain Institute, attended for the first time. Henry Gordon-Smith (SUMA ’13), director of global strategy at Blue Planet Environmental, used the fair to recruit for an urban agriculture internship.
For the first time this year, employers were able to conduct interviews during the fair. Several employers with immediate hiring needs took advantage of this package to pre-select students for interviews, and to meet with qualified candidates on site. All registered recruiters were provided with access to a resume book in advance of the fair and continue to have access to it 60 days after the event; this means that recruiters can connect with talent well after the actual event.
In the morning, students took a break from speaking with recruiters to attend a panel on entrepreneurship. There they heard a wide range of perspectives, from entrepreneurs who had started their own sustainability consulting and healthy food businesses, and investors interested in socially responsible business ventures. Later in the day, students with a passion for public service attended a presentation on how to navigate the federal job application process.
“I think this is a great opportunity for job seekers [and] recent graduates to meet with professionals from many different companies,” said Dong Chul Rhue, a masters student at Cornell University.
Each year, the eight Ivy League schools come together to produce a unique and inspiring career fair that provides companies unparalleled access to undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D-level students who have the skills and knowledge to address the complex sustainability challenges of our global economy. For more information on the All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair, visit the website. To express interest in recruiting at the 2016 fair, please email us.
