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2026 Fall Career Fair

MIT’s largest recruiting event, the Fall Career Fair, will take place on Friday, September 25, 2026, at the Johnson Athletic Center. Participating organizations have the opportunity to interview candidates on Saturday, September 26. 

This premier event connects thousands of MIT and Harvard students, postdocs, and alumni with top employers from diverse industries.

Registration will open in Handshake in May.


Why should you attend the Fall Career Fair? 

  • Engage with exceptional talent from MIT and Harvard, and showcase why your organization should be considered a top choice for employment.
  • Recruit for current internship and full-time opportunities at your organization. Elect to interview candidates on Saturday, September 26.   
  • Increase visibility and build your organization’s brand at MIT to recruit in the future. 
  • Network with future leaders and innovators. 
  • Students standing outside in line waiting to enter the fall career fair-fcf
  • sign reading candidates this way in front of capd helper at the fall career fair-fcf
  • Two students standing smiling with Tim the MIT mascot at the fall career fair-fcf
  • MIT Career Advising and Professional Development staff helping students at the fall career fair-fcf
  • 2 employers speaking to a student at their booth at the fall career fair fcf
  • Row of employer booths at the fall career fair-fcf
  • Vendors smiling at camera ready to speak to students at the fall career fair--fcf
  • Two students in a suit talking to an employer at the fall career fair-fcf
  • Three students taking a selfie with Tim the MIT Mascot at the fall career fair-fcf
  • Birds eye view of the fall career fair, fcf

Photos courtesy of Giro Studio.

About the 2025 Fall Career Fair 

The 2025 Career Fair welcomed nearly 4,200 candidates from diverse majors and education levels (undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs) and 220+ organizations, including major corporations, startups, and MIT affiliates.

Last year’s fair hosted employers from the following industry clusters:

  • Media, Marketing, Humanities, and Creative Careers
  • Aerospace, Defense, and Transportation 
  • Chemical Manufacturing, Materials, and Supply Chain 
  • Computer Science 
  • Data Analytics, Consulting, Finance, Investment, and Trading 
  • Design, Engineering, and Research 
  • Energy & Environment 
  • Government, Non-Profit, and Social Impact 
  • Hardware, Robotics, and Software 
  • Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Sciences 

Panelists speak to a masked audience.

Career Exploration Series

Career Advising & Professional Development offers a Career Exploration Series that begins in the Fall semester. This series is designed to encourage MIT students to explore industries and to engage in professional development opportunities.

The series offers the opportunity for employers to meet with students before the fair by engaging in events and opportunities related to career exploration. Please note that these events are not considered to be recruiting activities.

Opportunities to participate in these Career Exploration events will be offered to employers in late summer. Employers selected to participate will be able to have a company logo included in the event marketing, to help expand your company’s brand in the MIT community, and make connections with students, faculty, and staff.

lightbulb with a sprouting plant inside sitting on the ground

Career Fair Sustainability Initiative

The MIT Fall Career Fair is a significant event each fall where students, recent alumni, postdocs are introduced to hundreds of companies/organizations across a multitude of sectors: biotech and healthcare, finance, consulting, information technology, robotics, energy and utilities, transportation, defense, government, social, manufacturing, etc.

MIT students are increasingly becoming aware of all sectors’ responsibilities in reducing global emissions and creating environmental solutions.

Students want to know that the business that they will be working for is having a positive impact on this front. The MIT Fall Career Fair Sustainability Initiative helps students recognize their potential employers’ commitments towards their environmental responsibilities, and the progress they are making toward meeting those commitments.

4 people standing semi-circle discussing something.

Employer approval process

The following are the steps employers can expect to go through as part of the registration and approval process for the both the in-person and virtual fairs.

  1. Employers register for the fair on Handshake.
  2. Registration request is received and reviewed by the Fall Career Fair Committee (please allow up to 5 business days for a response).
  3. Employer receives an approval email with an invoice attached. This invoice must be paid before any other information is distributed.
  4. After payment, you will get an email with logistics information and instructions on preparing for the fair.

Approval Decisions

Industry representation at the fair will be carefully reviewed to ensure there is balance and diversity. Registration requests will be approved based on the following:

  1. Complete registration information
  2. Good standing in Handshake and at MIT
  3. Fit for the desired breadth of industries and fields we are seeking
  4. Active job postings in Handshake to ensure that there are a wide range of opportunities available to candidates.
  5. Willingness to talk with all candidates, such as first year undergraduates, and not just certain majors or degree levels
  6. Fit for the values that are important to MIT (pay equity, support for diverse employees, sustainability, and more)

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Virtual career fairs offer the opportunity for students and employers to connect in ways that transcend physical distances, at greater …

International employers seeking to recruit candidates from the United States should know that there may be different interviewing practices, cultural …

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