Over 400 graduates and soon to be graduates attended a hiring event Tuesday, June 9th at the Full Sail Live Venue. The event, sponsored by Full Sail’s Career Development department, featured 31 employers from all over the country, including ESPN, Universal Creative Group, FilmScapeProductions, and more. Two of the companies, Bunim Murray Productions and Bisk Education, conducted virtual interviews with online students in addition to in-person interviews.
Graduates and students within three months of their graduation date were eligible for participation, and were instructed to dress to impress and bring along a resume. Dozens of hopeful grads filled the lobby of the Live Venue in anticipation as small groups were let in in order to manage the flow of interviews. According to Career Development, a total of 1,310 interviews were conducted over the course of the six hour event. Companies represented a wide array of industries including web design, mobile development, computer animation, public relations, creative writing, film production, audio arts, show production, and entertainment business.
It’s very well organized,” said Rebecca Graham, a Computer Animation grad. “I like the fact that you could schedule interviews with the companies ahead of time, and you could also get on standby lists if you didn’t get to preregister or if you just had some time to kill.”
Film grad Auturo Rios agreed, and said that he found the face to face aspect of the event to be helpful.
“It definitely gives you an opportunity to seek out new employment options,” he said. “I’ve recently been trying to apply online, and I find it difficult not being able to speak with someone in person, so this definitely gives you a chance to see someone from the company and really make a connection like hey, this is my name and this is me.”
By the end of the day, over 30 grads walked away with job offers, with many others going on to a second round of interviews.
2015 Show Production grad Natasha Fearnow flew in from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to attend the event. Over the course of the day, she participated in a whopping 16 interviews. She said several companies showed interest in her, and overall she really appreciated the opportunity to network with so many different people at once.
“It was a really good experience. It was great practicing my interview skills, and talking with other grads who are also looking for a job.”
Check out a few more photos from the event below.