 "Photo: Alex Treneff")
Students prepared for their future at the MTSU 2008 Fall Career Fair, learning more about potential employers and taking advantage of valuable face time with companies' representatives.
Over 120 organizations were present at the fair, such as business and industry representatives like Intergraph Corporation and Verizon Wireless and nonprofits like the Peace Corps. Universities including Lipscomb University and Vanderbilt were also there to present students with information about their schools.
The fair lasted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Murphy Center and was open to all current MTSU students and graduates.
"It was slow at the beginning of the day, but as it went on it started to get busy," said Waynetta Rogers, an Internet sourcer for Scripps Networks, which includes national cable TV channels such as GAC, Food Network, and HGTV. "It's important for students to learn about the companies they are going to see at a job fair before they arrive at the table."
Companies provided interested students with information concerning hiring processes and requisite job demands for specific positions, as well as which job positions were open within the company.
"I came here to find a job," said Ashley Sabato, senior in advertising at MTSU. "[The career fair] is definitely important with the economy like it is."
Graduate and professional universities let students know of educational opportunities at their respective schools. Government organizations such as the Brentwood and Murfreesboro police departments were also at the fair, distributing information on the duties and responsibilities associated with being an officer, as well as various military branches.
Representatives at the fair emphasized the need for students to do research prior to actually going to the fair and show a genuine interest in a specific occupation within a specific company or institute.
"I researched five companies before I came here today," said Steven Stone, a senior in information systems at MTSU. "I noticed that representatives really perked up when I said something like 'I was looking at your website and…' So I talked to the companies I was interested in, then I had time to walk around and look at some of the other tables."
The first impression a student, and possibly future employee, makes on a company says a great deal about their career intentions in the long-term future.
"You only get to make a first impression once on a company," said Vickie Evans, Assistant Vice President for the Bank of New York Mellon. "With so much being done online like resumes, those kinds of things are not as important as presentations.
Especially considering that while some of the people who do the actual hiring aren't representatives, there are a large number that actually are the ones who will be deciding whether or not to hire an individual. I was disappointed in the way some of the students chose to present themselves today."
Many students prepared copies of their resumes to give to companies as a show of interest, but company representatives responded positively to students who showed concern about physical appearance and manner.
"It's certainly beneficial for someone when we notice things like if they know who we as a company are and if they dress professionally," said Jeffry Swertfeger, director of McNeilus, an Oshkosh Truck Corporation company. "It's really bad when students come up to us and say, 'I thought you guys made clothes or something,' and then try to ask us about job opportunities. In reality, we're interested in interns who have been in the CIM program here at MTSU. We always get a great comeback from visiting here."
It is important for students who have had enough classes in their major to know their personal plans and ambitions so that employers can give them more specific information concerning jobs.
"It's good to make eye contact and compose yourself in a professional way because it shows that you're interested," said Ruby Ramdham, healthcare recruiter for Hospital Corporation of America, the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world based in Nashville. "People shouldn't just come and grab the free goodies and leave, then expect to be taken seriously. It's telling when someone comes up and knows exactly what they want to ask and what they have to offer."
Regardless how crucial it is to prepare for career fairs and exhibit knowledge in specific fields, it is similarly important for students who have not yet thought about their career to also visit job fairs and start thinking about what it is they want to do for the rest of their lives.
"I heard some of my friends talking about it so I decided I would come by," said Darryl Holmes, a junior in accounting at MTSU. "I didn't come for any specific job or company, but I'm getting to see a lot of variety now in all these industries. I thought Ford's table was particularly interesting."
Even if students don't know which company they want to work for or whatmajor to declare, they should still make an effort to go to career fairs in order to feel out various industries and get ideas.
"I would say that about half the students came here prepared and knowing what they wanted to do, and the other half are just passing through because they found out there was a career fair today," said Terry Wheeland, a financial advisor with Equity Leadership Group of America. "It's understandable that some people are just checking things about, but it's different if someone approaches the table wearing tennis shoes and shorts and expects us to talk to them earnestly about job opportunities."
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