Tori Stilwell - tstilwell@newsobserver.com
Career fair attendees lined up at the Caterpillar company's booth on Friday. The company is adding 199 jobs to its Clayton plant in the next 5 years.
At a time when a handshake can make as big of an impression as a résumé, N.C. State students and alumni are taking advantage of every opportunity to give out both.
About 900 students showed up at the N.C. State Poole College of Management's career and internship fair on Friday to meet with representatives from almost 80 employers.
"We all hear about the companies, but this is an opportunity to create that relationship and start networking," said Marissa Stiff, an accounting major and a December 2012 graduate. "This helps narrow that job search down."
Companies ranged from tech giants like Lenovo and Cisco Systems to retailers Kohl's and Target, all of whom attracted lots of attention from students. Lines also were long for another company that's been making headlines in North Carolina with announcements of job growth: Caterpillar.
"Caterpillar has had a long history of supporting the school," said Daniel Stanton, Caterpillar's supply chain professional development manager. "The N.C. State degree and the skills they acquire prepares them for fulfilling roles everywhere."
Caterpillar's longtime CEO Jim Owens is on the university's board of trustees. Owens retired from Caterpillar in 2010.
Caterpillar announced Wednesday that it plans to add 199 jobs to and invest $33 million in its Clayton plant during the next five years. And after cutting hundreds of local jobs during the recession, the company has nearly doubled its North Carolina workforce during the past 18 months.
The company also is expanding its Sanford facility and opening a new factory in Winston-Salem. The company couldn't say how many NCSU students it would hire.
"Clearly, North Carolina is a very important area for us," Stanton said. "Part of the need is the talent to support our growth locally."
Michael Waggoner, a 2011 graduate with a business administration degree, said Caterpillar's leadership development program is what attracted him to the employer.
"They're one of the most recognized brands of construction and equipment in general," he said. "But a lot of students really don't know a lot about the business side of things. They have a lot of opportunities."
Waggoner said he would be interested in staying in North Carolina because of the strong presence Caterpillar has here, but he thinks the career path could take him anywhere.
"They're big in North Carolina, but they're also an international company, so there are a lot of opportunities," he said.
Caterpillar added more than 14,000 workers worldwide in 2011, bringing its total employee base to just more than 125,000. But the company announced Friday that it would close a Canadian locomotive plant due to costs and union disagreements.
Assembly of locomotives will be transferred to the company's other plants in North and South America.
Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan said the Clayton plant, which produces earth-moving equipment, would be hiring manufacturing workers in addition to engineering and design staff.
The new jobs will pay an average of $41,466 plus benefits, compared with the Johnston County average of $31,460.
