Career Center fair opens many doors for many feet
It's never too late to get your foot in the door or your resume on the desk of a potential employer.
That's the reason Radford University's Career Center offers events such as the Business and Non-profit Career and Internship Fair. The event, held Jan. 28 in the COBE Building, gave students an opportunity to greet and speak with recruiters who are looking for employees and interns.
Representatives from 45 businesses, agencies and non-profits met with RU students during the four-hour event. Among those were recruiters from IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Eastman Chemical, MeadWestvaco and the U.S. Secret Service.
"It so important for students to start developing relationships and making connections early on," said Teresa Dickens, the Career Center's assistant director. "Even sophomore and junior students should be here to start those relationships and have that conversation because finding job takes some time. It's not a last minute thing."
Nathan Harper, a criminal justice and psychology double major, heard the Secret Service would have a representative at the fair and wanted to introduce himself. "This is a great opportunity to meet people and make contacts," said the senior from Fairfax.
Gina Yerger and Collin Thorp, both seniors from Clifton, attended the fair together. Yerger was talking with recruiters about potential employment and internships while Thorp searched for summer internship opportunities. "I'm looking for a job to get me in the door and going right out of school," Yerger said.
Cpl. Juana Butler and Sgt. Layne Hellerstedt '90 from Chesterfield County Police Department speak with Francesca Hanson, a junior criminal justice major, at the Spring Business and Non-Profit Career and Internship Fair.
Zac Colon '14 was in that same position a year ago, attending the fair and looking for a job to begin after his then upcoming May graduation. He met a representative from Insight Global, eventually got the job, and this year he was back at the fair as a recruiter for his company. "Our company has success with RU graduates," he said.
Colon was among the 16 alumni back on campus serving as recruiters.
Another was Amanda Gunsaulis '10, who now works Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). She said her agency also has success with RU graduates, and she was on campus to help find some of the 60 full-time employees the OCC is looking to hire in June.
"It's really important for the students to see what a Radford University education can get you and how successful you can be," Dickens said. "It's so important for the students to see those students who were in their shoes, in their seat in the classroom not too long ago. It's a confidence boost for our students."
The Career Center will offer two additional fairs in February. The Health and Human Services Career and Internship Fair is scheduled for 1-4 p.m., Feb. 20, upstairs in the Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center, and the Education Career Fair is slated for Feb 27 in Peters Hall Gym. The education fair will run from 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., followed by interviews from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Career Center Director, Ellen Taylor, encourages students to prepare for the fair.
"To make a great first impression: polish your resume, practice your 30-second elevator pitch, research the organizations and follow up after the fair via personal note, email or LinkedIn," Taylor said. "Remember that the Career Center is here to support you every step of the way."