HPU Hosts Sales Career Fair to Connect Students with Employers
High Point University’s Sales Career Fair provided a valuable opportunity for students to connect with employers, build professional networks and explore career paths, creating meaningful connections between industry and future talent. Pictured was an HPU sales student who discussed job opportunities with Maggie Cobb, a sales representative of the biopharmaceutical company Amgen, during the career fair.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 30, 2026 – High Point University’s Sales Career Fair recently provided an opportunity for dozens of sales students to connect with employers, build professional networks and explore career paths, creating meaningful connections between companies from across the country and future talent.
The three-day event highlights the university’s commitment to career readiness by connecting students with industry leaders, opening doors to internships and employment opportunities, and helping shape the next generation of sales professionals, said Larry Quinn, a professor of the practice of sales and chair of the Department of Sales. He also serves as HPU’s Sales Professional in Residence and director of its Professional Selling Club (PSC).
HPU has hosted the Sales Career Fair every semester for the past 12 years for sales majors, sales minors and PSC members, Quinn said. HPU’s 8th Annual Randy Moser Speed Selling Competition is considered one of the signature events of the Sales Career Fair.
Students dressed in business professional attire arrived at Congdon Hall’s Anne Kerr Walker Ballroom with resumes in hand and met with corporate sponsors on campus on Oct. 19. Beforehand, students researched each sponsor company they wanted to meet.
“It taught me poise under pressure,” said Aryn Smid, a senior accounting major and sales minor who is president of HPU’s PSC. “It taught me how to interact with professionals and have those conversations that actually enhance myself, define me as a sales professional and also connect me to the industry.”
Corporate sponsors of the sales program included both local and nationally known companies such as Gartner, GE HealthCare, Lenovo, LPL Financial, Tom James, MedShift, Mutual of Omaha, Motorola Solutions, CED, Darktrace, Continental Tire, Spot Inc., 49 Financial, Dexian and Amgen. Each company agreed to participate in selling classes, judge sales competitions and have full-time sales positions and sales internships available.
Jonathan Lazaridis, a senior sales major with a finance minor who serves as PSC’s director of corporate relations, participated in the sales career fair for the third time.
“It’s an amazing opportunity because these companies are much more intentional in terms of getting to actually know the students and hire them,” said Lazaridis, who is from South Hamilton, Massachusetts. “They agree to remain on campus and spend two days and two nights getting to know each student they choose. That’s something we’re very proud of. An important component we pay close attention to is to build strong partnerships with companies that are interested in what HPU represents and what students care about. It’s been a privilege to help develop those relationships and create longtime value for the students, our partners and the university.”
Participating in sales career fairs is important for students because it provides good practice regardless of the outcome, said Remington Ballidis, a senior finance major.
“If there’s not a single return offer, it’s still a learning experience,” said Ballidis, who is from Orange County, California. High Point University has so many opportunities, it’s impossible to take advantage of all of them.”
Mia Clemons, a Class of 2023 graduate who majored in biology and minored in business administration and finance, returned to HPU to mentor and recruit current sales students. She now works as an X-ray region modality leader for GE HealthCare.
“I think it’s absolutely vital to continue to bring opportunities like this back for the students,” Clemons said. “High Point University does a phenomenal job of equipping students for the future as future leaders and for future development. It means a lot to us, especially to me as an alumna, to be able to reach that arm back and bring this opportunity. Students here are hungry, they are eager, and I feel like we have something to offer. Sometimes I’m offering them a job. Sometimes I’m offering mentorship or advice or coaching or feedback, but I feel like all of that is equally valuable. It’s a phenomenal group of students, and we love coming back every year and trying to pick up one or two students as we can.”