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Larger facility attracts 101 employers, 725 students to career fair
April 25, 2005 —
On April 8, SVSU students and alumni were presented with a more organized and spread out career fair favoring both employers and employment candidates at the 2005 SVSU University Wide Employment and Networking Fair. The event took place between 12:30 and 4:30 pm in the Ryder Center and consisted of 101 employers on-hand. More than 60 volunteers helped employers and aided those looking to network or find a job. The event brought approximately 725 SVSU students and alumni to explore the career fair.
"I talked to employers and they really liked the space and comfortableness of this particular fair, instead of being packed in," said event coordinator Mike Major.
The increased space resulted from ideas and changes made after last year's career fair. There were rooms designated for employers to have lunch before the event. The employers were spread out more due to the setup of the tables, allowing for more room and access to everyone at the event. There were also tables and chairs for students to sit at so they could plan or rest throughout the event.
To increase students' chances of being hired, résumé and professional dress were required for the event.
"This is our first time ever doing a career fair," said Chris Schloemann, Franchise Area Supervisor of Domino's Pizza. "We are having a great time, and the name tags have made it easy for us to meet a lot of people."
The name tags came with help from Assistant Director of Career Planning and Placement, Wynn McDonald, who pre-registered students before the fair. Students were organized by the six colleges at SVSU, which gave employers awareness of what each student is studying. The event was organized with spots by the entrance for students who had already registered and those who needed to register the day of the event, organized by these colleges.
"It seems a lot smaller as a career fair, but last time I got an internship so it does work," said James Chuchvara who just graduated in Communications.
There was a mix of employers offering part-time, seasonal and full-time jobs. The choices for students ranged from giving tours at an apple farm, becoming a policeman or soldier in the Army to nursing and other types of social and service activities.
The only real weakness was finding a technological or computer-based job at the fair.
"There's a nice variety of people here, but for computer science majors there is not much," said SVSU computer science major Jon Chinnery. "There appears to be a nice selection for social and service programs but not much for technological majors."
Five hundred thirty-six students completed a survey to help Career Planning & Placement improve the event. Eighty-four percent of students said they found that the helpfulness of volunteers was excellent. Also, 86.8 percent of students said they would recommend this type of fair to other students looking for jobs. Thirty-five percent of students filling out the survey were nearing graduation and looking for a career.
There were also people who attended who were unemployed, looking for internships and co-ops, or just researching possible career paths. The average number of employers students saw during the day was five.
The employers also filled out a survey with positive feedback. A majority of employers, 86.4 percent, said they would like to attend again next year.
"The reason that we chose this job fair is because of the lack of colleges in our area," said Amy Hocken of the Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning. "This is the perfect opportunity for us to get excited students to work for us in the summer."
Career Planning and Placement will also be holding an Education Employment Fair Tuesday, April 26 from 12:30 to 4:30 in Curtis Hall Banquet Rooms A, B and C. Thirty employers will be on-hand and the fair will be free for students and alumni. Professional attire is required.