Wayne State College is holding their annual Career and Internship Fair in the Kanter Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 27, from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., offering a chance to connect with employers from Nebraska and across the country.
With over 100 businesses attending, this year’s fair has been expanded to include an extra day to allow more businesses to participate in the career fair. One day is dedicated to a wide range of majors, and the other focuses on industrial technology majors.
The first day of the fair will be held on Kanter’s main floor and is dedicated to all majors offered on WSC’s campus, with a wide range of employers. Fields varying from banks to hospitals and behavioral places are expected to attend, along with some industrial technology departments that plan to partake in both days of the fair.
Kanter’s Career Services will host the second day, which concentrates on the industrial technology departments.
According to Assistant Director of Career Services Philip Myer, WSC’s Career Fairs tend to get a lot of construction companies each year, so room was made to accommodate other majors and companies.
“The second day focuses on industrial technology degrees.” Myer said. “People that are in drafting, construction management, safety management, things like that. That’s what the focus of that day is.”
Registration is not required to attend either day of the event. Those who plan to participate only need to come on the day of, where the registry will check attendees in and print out a nametag.
The Handshake application, while providing registration before the event, plans to act as a guide for the fair as well. It gives students the option to see what kind of businesses are attending the fair, and which ones are affiliated with their major. An interactive map will also be available on the days of the fair. WSC professors will be present to aid students and other attendees. However, non-app users are welcome to scan a QR code that can help search by major and company to see which kinds of people are available to talk to.
Each employer will also have a QR code at their booth. This can be accessed in the Handshake app or through your phone camera. These codes offer a way for job seekers to remember the business or majors they spoke with, along with providing employers to remember who they met with. If scanned, your name and email will be sent by the fair to the employer, allowing another way to further contact potential career opportunities.
Job seekers who plan to attend the event should come prepared. Updating and bringing copies of your resume, finding three to five employers to talk to, writing things down and dressing professionally are some of the ways to prepare. A padfolio is recommended to accommodate this, to organize a legal pad, copies of your resume, a pencil, and collecting business cards. According to Myer, employers expect you to dress nicely and would really like to see some resumes.
Normally, 400 students attend the career fairs, with the spring fairs being slower than the fall ones. However, last semester’s career fair held over 500 students, and it is expected that roughly 400-450 students are expected to attend the fair this year.