Some information students should know for a successful Career Fair visit.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, Sept. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Reynolds Center for TU’s Fall Cane Career Fair. As many students are well aware the job-searching and connecting event is approaching soon with over 100 employers, around 300 to 500 recruiters and about 700 to 800 students estimated to be in attendance. I got the chance to discuss the career fair with Kellie Collins, TU’s assistant director of career readiness and experiential learning, and Dr. Ron Walker, TU’s interim executive director, who shared some of the helpful information that students should be aware of while preparing for the upcoming event.
Students need not to worry about feeling or being unprepared for the career fair, as CaneCareers is hosting a “Prepare for the Fair Week” that is full of events nearly every day leading up to the fair itself. Two masterclasses will be hosted in the Great Hall in the Student Union, one hosted on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. and one at noon on Sept. 18. On Sept. 19, in the CaneCareers lobby found on the second floor of the Holmes Student Center, a Resume Reboot will be held from noon to 5 p.m. This event will allow students to meet with their career coach to revise their essays before presenting them to future employers and recruiters. In the Helmerich Building Room 208, the glorious CaneCareers Closet Raid will take place on Sept. 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There, students can browse for one free professional outfit they wish to wear for the career fair. Lastly, Rock The Mock will be held back at the CaneCareers lobby on Sept. 23 from noon to 5 p.m. two days before the fair. Here, students will practice their elevator pitch and run through a mock interview with their CaneCareer coaches.
On the day of the fair, students are suggested to dress professionally, bring their resumes, portfolios, a folder to keep it all in and a writing utensil. Backpacks aren’t encouraged, but there will be a drop-off station near the fair entrance. If students need to take a breather before going to meet the different employers and recruiters, the fair also has a student lounge for students to relax in. Attendees can have free professional headshots taken at the Career Fair as well to include in their future resumes. Along with free headshots, employers at the Career Fair would be handing out lots of free swag to attendees. Collins and Walker also revealed that if a student attends two Prepare for the Fair events and the Cane Career Fair they will be eligible to win a grand prize giveaway that will be revealed soon on social media.
For students who might be asking, “Why should I attend the career fair?” Collins explains that the career fair benefits students of any grade level. Freshmen should come so that they get an idea for the layout of a career fair. Sophomores and juniors should come to look for internships. Lastly, seniors, graduates and PhD students should come to make connections and find potential jobs and careers after their schooling is done. Many arts and science students had voiced that they are noticeably hesitant to attend the career fair due to the fact that most of the employers there are looking for business students interested in working for gas and oil companies. But Collins and Walker explained that the employers at the career fair are looking for students of all majors, most times from unexpected and surprising companies. What tends to happen is that certain students get discouraged to return when they do not find employers hiring students in their major and certain employers get discouraged to return when they do not find students within the majors they are hiring. This year, attending students and some employees will be given color coded IDs so they can find each other easily at the fair. Walker summarized perfectly, “Are we going to get the perfect job for everyone? No we’re not. But we’re trying everything possible.”
Students should also check weekly emails from their career coach as they will be posting the employers that are hiring for your colleges (so you will know who to go to during the fair). Additionally if you need any one-on-one help looking for jobs and internships, schedule appointments with your career coach now. The closer to the career fair, the more busy the career coaches become. The day after the career fair, on the employer-facing side of the CaneCareers office, several companies will begin conducting on-campus interviews for two weeks. For more information on the Career Fair, the many services they offer or updates on door prizes and employer highlights follow CaneCareers on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Hopefully, with the tips in this article and the Prepare for the Fair events students will be able to successfully score an interview or job afterwards.
