The CSI Career and Scholarship Center recently held its annual Accounting Fair in Building 1A.

CSI’s 2011 Accounting Fair was held recently in the Atrium of Building 1A.  The event, sponsored by the Career and Scholarship Center and the Business Department, was designed to introduce CSI accounting students to many nearby accounting firms in the area.

The event is held every year in late September to coincide with the accounting industry’s need for recruiting prior to the busy tax season.

In all, nine firms were in attendance, including the Internal Revenue Service, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Integrated Financial Services as well as DeSantis, Keifer, Shall, & Sarcone, and Cicero & LaVerde from Staten Island. Joining the firms were 65 CSI accounting students seeking internships and full-time career positions.

The fair was hosted for a small, targeted group to ensure that all of the students in attendance received equal time with the firms. Professor Cynthia Scarinci of the Business Department was instrumental in enlisting all faculty in identifying potential student candidates for the fair and then collaborated with the Career and Scholarship Center to prepare them for the event.

“We helped them develop the skills they need,” said Joanne Hollan. Most of the help involved the Career and Scholarship Center assisting the students with résumé writing but it also extended to professional dress and business etiquette. In all, this assistance from the Center was extremely helpful. “We received some very good feedback from the companies,” said Hollan. Six students were invited for interviews as of this writing with more being offered mentoring opportunities as well as informational interviews and even the chance to shadow employees for a day. “The firms were very generous with their time,” said Hollan.

One of the recruiters from PricewaterhouseCoopers was a CSI alum who attended this very event three years ago. Some of the firms have committed to performing on campus recruitment interviews where they will personally interview potential employees here at CSI.

The collaboration between CSI’s Business Department and the Career and Scholarship Center ensures that CSI business students will have every opportunity to succeed in the business world long after graduating from CSI. “CSI students are hard working and intelligent,” said Hollan. “With a little help, there is no reason they can’t pursue their careers.”