2023 Retail Fuse Recap!
Oct. 11, 2023
From a Student's Perspective
On Tuesday, September 19th, from 5-7pm, the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing hosted its annual Retail Fuse Event. This event featured brands like Victoria’s Secret, Walmart, Petsmart, Target, Winston Retail, and more. Recruiters from all of these large companies were eager to get to know the attending students and share information about summer internships and full-time opportunities available for ambitious individuals. There were two amazing guest speakers and even an alum panel, all giving advice and insight into their own personal experience with the retail industry.
Personally, the exposure to this event gave me into the retail industry was invaluable. Coming as a recent transfer into the RCSC major, I had no prior experience with anything corporate: I had never spoken with a recruiter, never had to dress or own “business casual”, and had no idea what to expect from this sort of event. Needless to say, I was intimidated to attend. I expected it to be like a career fair atmosphere where there would be hundreds of students waiting in line to talk to recruiters and pitch their elevator speech. However, the Retail Fuse surpassed these expectations.
Each recruiter from every company was assigned a table with 7-10 students, and they were given a question to discuss as a group. There was also 30 minutes before and after the scheduled program for students to walk around and network with the recruiters. This prevents any opportunity for awkward silence and allows for a more intimate environment to learn about each company. One has a non-intimidating way to approach these companies, and ask questions about anything, from location internships, to different career paths offered, and even company culture.
This experience would be extremely useful to any student, one actively searching for a job or a new freshman looking to gain exposure to the industry. The Retail Fuse greatly reduced any stress I had about the retail world and I would recommend attendance to any University of Arizona student!
PS. If you need an extra motivator, the brownies and pizza are worth coming for ;)
