The Perry Fieldhouse usually houses athletes clad in sports gear, but Feb. 7, it instead held University students clad in business suits.

That’s because the University Career Center held their annual spring EXPO, an event designed to play matchmaker between student and employer. The goal of the spring EXPO was for employers and employees to find a perfect match.

At an Association for Computing Machinery meeting on Jan. 31, University students were already preparing. Susan Denton, of the insurance titan Medical Mutual, advised a room full of Computer Science students on how to perform at their best during the career fair.

Denton’s first rule: be who you are.

“If you pretend you’re one way and you’re not, [you’re] not going to be a good fit for the company,” Denton said.

She then stressed the importance of both the employee and the employer being right for each other.

A less obvious factor Denton mentioned was higher conversion rates for a company meant a full time job becomes more likely after the internship is over.

Some companies hire interns without the intention of bringing them on as full time hires later. Those companies have low conversion rates.

However Denton can boast a 90 percent conversion rate from intern to full employee. That is because her company, Medical Mutual, specifically hires interns with the intention that they later can become full-time employees. That’s a win-win for the employee and the employer because the internship is more likely to result in a full time job.

Denton wasn’t alone in emphasizing employee happiness as a goal for the employer. Near the start of the event, Cedar Point Foods Manager Victor Rhodes offered a group of students some advice about how they hire.

“We hire based off what you want to do, not what you have experience in,” Rhodes said.

Supply chain students who want to effortlessly drift supplies around the nation need look no further then Toyota.

Kirsten Kendra, a Toyota recruiter, was looking for students who could take the initiative, the go getters and employees who could adapt to new situations. Carless students still have a shot, Kendra said.

“You don’t need to be a car person,” Kendra said to work at Toyota’s offices in Ann Arbor Michigan.

At noon the EXPO was in high gear. Lines crowded around employers for students to share their resumes, but junior Computer Science major Zaren Wienclaw had a different goal. He’s not here to look for a job, but he’s keeping his eyes peeled for something else.

“I’m here for the networking opportunities and the occasional free gift,” Wienclaw said.

Sometimes people skills trump technical expertise.

David Potz, a sales manager for Heidelberg Distribution, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale aficionado, scouts the job fair. Potz had his sights set on an outgoing, hardworking and ambitious sales intern, the kind that can seal a deal.

Scott Richter, a captain for Endevor Air, normally enjoys flying jets like the CRJ-200 “because it flies like a sportscar.”

Captain Richter landed at the EXPO to recruit the kind of motivated, alert, and well-structured pilot an airline needs to thrive. The Captain notes that positions like his hold special responsibility.

“That full authority, and responsibility of the aircraft” was something Captain Richter clearly respected and held in high regard.

Students who missed the EXPO can get a second shot at a job this semester if they hurry. The BGSU Career Center will be having an etiquette dinner for students who RSVP with employers on Feb. 21.