Patti Baccus, a recruiting specialist for Cox Communications, said she was mostly interested in filling positions within the cable company’s call center.

The Providence Journal / Kathy Borchers

Ronnie Rodrigues and Ola Adeduji, both finance majors about to graduate from Rhode Island College, said they were confident about their futures.

But Cassie Wypasek, also a senior and finance major at RIC, wasn’t so sure. “I’m not going to lie, I’m scared,” she said. “I applied for 12 positions, and I’ve gotten one call. So I’m not that confident.”

Wypasek said she now has an internship working in the tax department at Textron, but there’s no job waiting for her after graduation. “Hence, my worries,” she said.

Rodrigues, Adeduji and Wypasek were all at a college graduate career fair sponsored by projoJobs at the headquarters of Save The Bay in Providence last week. Participants in the relatively small fair included Cox Communications, American Power Conversion, the U.S. Navy and graduate schools from Johnson & Wales and Salve Regina universities.

Rodrigues, Adeduji and Wypasek said they’re well aware of the financial problems facing Rhode Island, and all three have been looking for jobs in Boston, where they think opportunities are more plentiful.

The Cox Communications table was busy throughout the late-afternoon job fair. Recruiting specialist Patti Baccus said she was mostly interested in filling positions within the cable company’s call center, although Cox does have some openings in marketing and finance.

Mike Mathews, 23, was interested in a call center position. Mathews, who has studied business management at Johnson & Wales and the Community College of Rhode Island, said he had made an appointment to take a qualification test at Cox. “Eventually, I’d like to get into marketing and promotion,” he said. “But if I can work at the call center, it’s a way to get my foot in the door. Show them my work ethic.”

Jamison Miller, 21, who will graduate this month from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in communications, was waiting to have his resumé evaluated by employment experts from the state Department of Labor and Training. Miller said he was looking for a sales job, and planned to drop off his resumé to Cox and APC after it had been checked. “The more resumés I have out there, the better,” he said.

Miller said he’s not nervous about his future, despite the grim news concerning the Rhode Island economy. “I’ve been waiting for this,” he said. “I enjoyed college life, but I’m ready to go out and join corporate America. I’m not worried about finding a job, but finding the right job.”

Miller said his girlfriend has a job in Rhode Island, so for the time being he’d like to stay in the state. “We’re following the almighty dollar, and ultimately we’ll go where that takes us, but for the time being she’s here, and I’m here.”

Rich Gasbarro and Tim Vaudrain were staffing the recruiting booth for American Power Conversion. Gasbarro said the company was recruiting four-year college graduates for its sales development and technical development program. For the technical applicants, he said, the company is looking for engineering or computer science students; for the sales applicants, it’s seeking business management students.

Gasbarro pointed out the APC does business throughout North Amercia, so a state or even regional economic downturn does not affect it as much as some other companies.

Employment studies have generally found that admission to graduate school rises when the economy does poorly, because many students think they need additional education to compete in a tough job market.

Lori Golda, assistant director of graduate admissions at Johnson & Wales, said several people visiting the J&W table were interested in the school’s MBA programs, one in hospitality and one in global business leadership.

Some of them, she said, are already working full time in fields such as marketing or event planning, but want to improve their skills.

asmith@projo.com