The UNH spring 2017 Career and Internship Fair broke previous attendance records, according to Raina Sarvaiya, director of UNH Employer Relations. The specific attendance numbers were not available in time for press.

With 217 employers and 15 sponsors packed in the Whittemore Center, Sarvaiya said that this spring’s career fair was the largest one yet. The event also included new amenities to help students in their job searches.

Students were provided with “student help areas” where they could ask questions to professionals so as to prepare them for when they begin talking to the companies in attendance. Students were also provided with tours around the fair to give those unfamiliar with the career fair environment a sense of what it’s like.

“We’re really excited about this fair,” Sarvaiya said. “We’ve worked really hard on increasing the number of employers by understanding what it is our students want so that we can bring employers that reflect the needs and wants of our student body.”

The UNH Career Center hosted a number of events leading up to the fair to prepare students. Last Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Dress for Success event was held in Union Court of the Memorial Union Building where students could get tips on how to dress in an appropriate manner for the event.

Of the employers present there that day, Liberty Mutual Insurance isn’t one that’s new to the UNH campus. Campus recruiter Paige Andrews says that this is because of the success that  Wildcats have at her company.

“I think that the underclassmen are really well prepared,” Andrews said. “They come to the career fair with an appropriate elevator pitch, they dress appropriately, they follow up professionally, I’m just always really impressed with them.”

Andrews said that these were her personal views and don’t necessarily reflect the opinion of Liberty Mutual.

Andrews said that in general, Liberty Mutual looks for students who are innovative, tech-savvy, collaborative and result oriented—all attributes Andrews finds UNH alumni to have.

The students in attendance that day all saw differing levels of success at the fair. Some went because they were just curious, while others were hopeful they might find a job for the near future. Junior business administration and finance major Brian Quigley said he had quite the successful afternoon.

“I came to look for some internships and got an interview with Prudential,” said Quigley. “They would potentially offer me a 12-week program over the summer in the Boston area which would be great.”

Quigley went to the fair with a group of friends, all of whom he said had moderate success in talking to employers that day.