If you find yourself on the verge of your next big life decision – finding a job or furthering your education – the place to be on Tuesday is the annual Queen’s Career Fair.

This year’s event is billed as the university’s biggest ever with over 100 recruiter booths, including employers and various schools.

Organizers are combining two past events – the Career Fair and Further Education Expo – with the goal of providing greater opportunities for Queen’s students – both undergraduate and graduate.

“Students are considering multiple options so we’ve combined events to bring together into one place information about jobs, further education, and experiential learning for skill building,” says Ann Tierney, Vice-Principal and Dean of Student Affairs. “Students are busy – this event makes it easy for students to speak with employers, educational programs, and advisors, all in one location.”

This year’s event includes:

Employer Showcase – featuring close to 30 organizations from a variety of sectors interested in hiring Queen’s students

Educator Expo – with more than 70 further education programs including law, education, and medicine

Skills Development Zone –providing opportunities for students to increase their career skills including: resume review clinic; drop-in career advising booth; LinkedIn photo booth (where students can get a professional Linkedin headshot, sponsored by Alumni Relations); QUIC (for questions about working internationally); QUIP (learn about internships) and more.

The excitement around the event isn’t just being felt by the organizers and students.

“Recruiters are excited to speak with students,” says Ashley Johnson, Manager, Employer and Partner Relations, Career Services at Queen’s. “They will be at the fair because they are looking for talent for their organizations, and they’ve chosen to come to Queen’s.”

Also, with the aim of helping students make the transition into job search mode or the next step in education, there will be plenty of support available throughout the event.

“Students can find a fair full of recruiters intimidating – they want to connect but are nervous about doing so,” says Cathy Keates, Director, Career Services. “Last year we introduced a ‘Prep Area’ where advisors help students strategize and feel confident about speaking with employers. We had amazing response from students so we’re doing it again, and we have added more advisors this year.”

The Career Fair is being held at the ARC on Tuesday, Sept. 30 and will run from 10 am-3 pm.

For more information go to careers.queensu.ca/events-workshops/career-fair

View the 2014-15 edition of the career magazine “What’s Next?”