The 2011 Fall Job Fair, hosted by Career Development, put 22 businesses in one room for the students and alumni of Texas A&M University-Commerce yesterday in an effort to connect attendees with employment opportunities.
Many companies expressed positive reactions to applicants they met this year. Although not every company in attendance had immediate openings, most had open positions and a few did on-site interviews. According to Director of Career Development Tina Boitnott, the event was successful.
“Every recruiter that signed up showed, and we had more [students] than we had last year,” she said. “I’m happy about that. We had some faculty come through, which is awesome. I feel we provided an opportunity for our students to find employment and to graduate and be successful. For me, that’s a success.”
This year’s job fair had 160 participants, 53 more than last year. According to Boitnott, the turnout was low, especially in this job market.
“I would love to see the lines backed up, down the street, around the corner, and over into the next town,” Boitnott said. “I don’t feel we have reached the students we need to reach, all of the students. We have 22 companies here who are hiring a myriad of majors. I would just like for our students to know that every opportunity to make a connection with an employer is valuable in this job market. Whether you’re a freshman or graduate student, it’s valuable and to take advantage of every opportunity presented to you.”
Although the Fall Job Fair was publicized and grew this year, concerns are getting the companies to return and the job fair’s continued growth . The Career Development Job Fairs require a professional dress code to attend, but with the low turnout, much of that was forgone.
“We put this out in emails to faculty and staff, we target departments and faculty that we know the companies are here looking for their major specifically,” Boitnott said. “We do all of the leg work. The day of the event comes and I don’t know what happens, but we don’t always see the faculty support. It’s a catch-22; if we don’t have the students, alumni, and community coming through, the companies will not come back because we did not have the volume. Having such a low volume today, if we turned [unprofessionally dressed attendees] away, it would have been even less.”
Cooper Terry, District Manager for Fastenal, has been coming to the Fall and Spring Job Fairs for 10 years. Terry gives the job fair growth credit to Boitnott, but feels some of the most successful job fairs come from those with strong support from instructors.
“Career Development has new leadership, Tina Boitnott,” Terry said. “She is doing a lot of the right things and it will just take a little time to get to where it needs to be. The universities I go to that have a successful turn out from the student population have strong support from the professors. They get them engaged in thinking about career opportunities.”
Innovations First International also made its first appearance at the Fall Job Fair. The Greenville-based company was represented by Associate Creative Director Brandon Adams. By the end of the event Adams found three prospective students and one he felt would be an asset and already has scheduled a follow-up interview. He looks forward to returning to future job fairs at A&M-Commerce.
“We do everything from robotics to toy manufacturing with robotics in mind, as well as packaging and design,” Adams said. “We are looking to open a few new brands and so we are looking to staff up in that direction.”
Aside from current students, there were also many alumni in attendance. Micheal Davis accompanied his 2004 A&M-Commerce alumna wife, Kelly Davis, to the event.
“She is looking for work and I got laid off a couple weeks ago, so I’m in the same boat with her,” Micheal Davis said.
Nathan Ritchey, political science junior at A&M-Commerce, visited with 18 of the 22 companies. According to Ritchey, even if the company didn’t have anything to offer him, he gathered information for friends who might find it useful. He also made sure to revisit some of the companies to leave a lasting impression and make sure they remembered not only his name, but his face with it.
“I got more than I was expecting,” Ritchey said. “I was speaking to the Edward Jones table and I can meet with him on my portfolio when I get out of college and be able to start building that up to be financially secure. I scheduled some meetings with [local businesses] so they could help me understand what kinds of fields there are in the computer science field, so when I graduate I know an idea of what I can do with my degree plan and go out in the world and get a job.”