Anderson's High-Tech Career Fair on March 2 Will Lure In A 'Different' Kind Of Crowd; Last Year's Internet Frenzy Sent UCLA MBA Students Flocking to Join Dot-Coms.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2001

This Year, Job Candidates Are On a More Realistic Mission

The Anderson School at UCLA, together with the school's student-run High Tech Business Association, will host a high technology career fair for UCLA students -- both undergraduate computer science majors and Anderson students -- interested in pursuing high-tech related careers on March 2, 2001 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

While last year's High Tech Career Fair reflected dot-com mania with nearly 40 companies (many of them dot-coms) eager to hire UCLA undergrads and MBAs, this year's career fair reflects a more sober job market. Only 20 companies have signed up to participate this year -- most of them established tech companies such as Intel, Hewlett Packard, BroadVision, and Wells Fargo Online. Only three companies who participated last year have returned (BroadVision, NextEngine, Inc., and WindRiver Systems).

Stock options? Taking pets to work? Lunch hour massages? The days of courting job candidates with quirky benefits and promises of overnight riches are all but over. The employment landscape in 2001 has changed dramatically, and soon-to-be graduates are readjusting expectations and shifting their focus to more traditional opportunities at more established high-tech companies.

"Our students' deep interest in high-tech opportunities has not diminished. They still want to be a part of the 'new' cutting edge technology, but they also want stability and the comfort of being with a company that has long-term objectives," said Alysa Polkes, director of the Career Management Center at Anderson.

While the dot-com passion cools, established high tech companies such as Cisco, BroadVision, The Aerospace Corporation, and Dell will be present at Anderson's career fair, offering soon-to-be MBAs exactly what they want: solid training, a sense of stability and an unwavering company mission.

Other companies attending the career fair include WindRiver, Guidant, NextEngine, Brio Technology, eNow, Telecom Italia, DiamondCluster International, Connexion by Boeing, HNC Software, and more.

The Anderson School chose not to create an emphasis in e-business or e-commerce, choosing instead to incorporate the changes wrought by the information economy into all of its courses. Anderson, one of the most technologically advanced facilities in the world, continues to recognize the profound impact of the digital age and the importance of e-business education. Most recently, the School formed its Center for Management in the Information Economy, which promotes and shares applied research on all management aspects of the information economy and conducts educational programs and seminars for business students and the business community.

This event is not open to the public. Journalists working for significant media outlets are asked to call Kimberly Lisella at 310/206-7707 for more information or to arrange for reservations and complimentary parking.