A blue carpet guides visitors through the students' own job and career fair at DTU Lyngby Campus, where over 150 companies, organizations, and startups meet students face to face.
At one of the exhibition stands Claire Rasmussen is standing on the opposite side of the table from where she stood last year. Back then, she attended the DSE Fair as a recent graduate of DTU's BEng in Architectural Engineering, just a few days after completing her studies. She and a friend walked around among the companies without really knowing how to approach a fair like this.
At the earthworks and construction contractor M. J. Eriksson's booth, they were greeted by an employee who initiated the conversation. That made it easier to stay there. Easier to explain what they had studied. Easier to ask follow-up questions.
Claire Rasmussen was encouraged to talk to certain employees at the company and send in her resume and application, which she did. After Easter, the call came, followed by a job interview and then a job offer as an engineer at M. J. Eriksson.
"The coolest thing about working for a construction company is getting out there and being part of the production, not just sitting in an office from 8 to 4. I'm way too impatient for that," says Claire Rasmussen, who works on a district heating project in Herlev and Ballerup.
This year, she's back at the DSE Fair with tote bags, water bottles, and a sheet listing the open positions the company is offering. Now she's the one greeting visitors who come to M. J. Eriksson's exhibition stand.
"I'm here because I want to show other recent graduates that meeting someone at the fair can actually lead to a job. Not necessarily for everyone and not in the same way every time, but for me, the conversation at the booth was the start of the job I have now," says Claire Rasmussen, before returning to the booth, where she hands out candy and chips to visitors who spin M. J. Eriksson's wheel of fortune and land on a prize.
