Brian Gaines, NC ASA Treasurer

Travis Knapp (left) and Fang Chen (right) from SAS discuss career opportunities with an attendee.

Representatives from RTI International await the start of the fair.

Elizabeth Mannshardt from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the NC ASA past president speak with young professionals at the fair.

Inspired by the success of the ASA’s Career Service at the Joint Statistical Meetings and the well-documented analytics skills gap, NC ASA organized a career information fair as a service to their statistics community. Attendees learned about the variety of opportunities available to statisticians and data scientists at local organizations. The fair was attended by more than 75 statistics students and professionals, and more than a dozen companies and universities in the Triangle area participated.

Structure

One important decision in organizing the career fair was determining the format. Their goal was to give attendees a chance to learn more about different types of careers in statistics in addition to hosting a traditional career fair.

The event began with a series of introductions and elevator pitches from each organization. This provided an overview of the company, a chance to advertise open job opportunities, and a glimpse into the work of the company’s professional statisticians. After the introductions, attendees had 90 minutes to visit individually with the companies and universities.

They were unsure how well this format would work, but it went well and feedback was almost universally positive. An unexpected benefit of the speed format was it assisted in the networking between organizations. For example, two organizations exchanged contact information in hopes of pursuing joint projects.

Recruitment

One of the most important aspects of planning the fair was to recruit an attractive and diverse collection of organizations. By using NC ASA’s industry contacts and recruiting friends and colleagues, they were able to do just that. Fourteen organizations agreed to participate in the fair, including several big employers of statisticians in the area and representatives from the three major universities that constitute the vertices of the Triangle.

To recruit attendees, NC ASA advertised the event via its listserv and enlisted its Scholastic Council to help spread the word. More than 100 individuals registered, 88% of which were students.

Reflections and Takeaways

Organizing a career fair takes a lot of work and planning, but it was well worth it based on the turnout and feedback NC ASA received. All seven of the organizations that filled out the post-fair survey indicated they would attend a similar career fair next year. Comments from the job seekers were also positive.

Suggestions for improvement included making the elevator pitches and current job openings available beforehand.

Many ASA chapters are positioned well to organize similar events. Contact Brian Gaines, NC ASA treasurer, if you have questions or would like more information about the logistics.