Newman University Career Services organized and held the Fall Job/Internship Fair for students on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center. A total of 26 businesses participated by setting up booths and talking with students about future careers.
Director of Career Services and Cooperative Education Melody Head wanted students to have the opportunity to network and connect with community employers while gaining confidence in communication and promoting their own skill sets.
The event was well attended and Head said the businesses present were pleased with the students they saw. One student even landed an interview and will begin training for her new job upon her graduation.
Sean Nance, a recruitment specialist at Credit Union of America, said he goes to as many job fairs as he can.
“Currently, we’re pursuing entry-level positions, part-time tellers, sales folks. It’s a good place to get started. Students may think, ‘Well it’s only a part-time teller job,’ but I started as a part-time teller. It’s a great place to start and learn the business, especially if you like the banking industry,” said Nance.
Newman freshman Dakota Heard who attended the event said, “I’m a history and secondary ed major … but I think there was a good variety. Medicine, different businesses, banks, there was a great variety.”
Anthony (Kan.) Medical Center Marketing Director Shea Lansbury said the center is looking for registered nurses and radiologic technology nurses.
“We’re a hospital about 45 minutes southwest of Wichita. We’re looking for nurses in general,” said Lansbury. “When we’re looking for people, we’re looking for those who really care about patients. We hear about how many community hours your students put in, and that kind of student body is what we’re looking for.”
Lansbury also mentioned that the medical center already employs some Newman graduates.
“We have two Newman nurses currently. They are incredible nurses and we love to have them there.”
The job and internship fair provided a great place to start for students looking to enter the professional world. Attendees had the opportunity to hand out resumes, as well as just get a feel for how to interact with department managers and directors.
Leslie Londeen, HR coordinator of East Side Menards, said, “We’ve had some students stop by that are looking for part-time work. But we also have a manager training program that streamlines the process of getting into management. We have a very specific culture, and we look for specific traits in our team members, so management puts a lot of resources and time into that to really develop that talent. There are lots of opportunities no matter where a person is at, whether they want to be a manager or a part-timer. We are very flexible and work with students’ schedules and even pay a little extra if they come in and work on the weekend.”
The participating businesses also had giveaway items for students. Some even had games set up at their table to make things more fun and interactive.
Head mentioned that the sooner students start learning career development, the better. “It’s important to start the career development process early — freshman year. While the students are attending classes, they need to be putting together information for a career portfolio, resumes and practicing interviewing.”
There will be another opportunity for students to attend a job fair in the spring. The Highway 54 Career Fair will be held at Newman on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
