By Susan M. Luce
Epsilon Alpha Chapter, Portland State University

1999-2000 Officers (l-r) with materials collected at Accounting Job Fair: Alison Chan - Recording Secretary, Rosemary Allen - Treasurer, Sid Engebretson - Vice-President, Ruby Devasia - President, Susan Luce - Reporting Secretary.

The Epsilon Alpha Chapter at Portland State University in Portland, OR recently held an accounting job fair, inviting 10 of the local temporary placement agencies. The following agencies' representatives attended: Accountants Executive Search/Accountants On Call, Accountants Inc., Accountants Northwest, Accountants +Plus, Accountemps/Robert Half International, Accounting Connections Northwest, Accounting Quest, Daystar/MRI, Employment Trends, and Romac International. Each agency had one or two representatives available to answer students' questions regarding temporary, part-time, permanent, or internship positions in the fields of accounting, finance, and human resources, as well as to give some feedback on résumé preparation and qualifications.

This was the first event of this kind organized by our Beta Alpha Psi chapter. It was held directly after a similar job fair hosted by the university's career center on more general career fields. The business cards, pamphlets, and other literature collected at the event are being saved to assist in the planning of next year's job fair.

Feedback on the event was positive from students and agencies alike, which has encouraged this year's officers to plan on holding the event again next year. One student's response to the event coordinator was "Thanks for your pitch earlier this spring for getting work at temporary agencies and for putting together the job fair for those agencies. I registered at three, and so far two have produced work, and one is pending with a possible summer internship. I'm not sure I would have gone this route without your encouragement." Tracy Meyers from Accounting Quest commented "…thank you for all your efforts in coordinating the Accounting Fair. We got the chance to meet some great students."