100 Employers to Court WCU Students at Job & Internship Fair on February 23
The job hunting and internship mining season is officially on for college students,
and it is nipping at the heels of what some are calling the great resignation or the
great reshuffle …The Class of 2022 has a distinct advantage. According to the National
Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2022 report, “Employers plan to
hire 26.6% more new graduates from the Class of 2022 than they did from the Class
of 2021.” This is very good news for those West Chester University (WCU) students
who will be pounding-the-pavement at an on-campus job and internship fair that will
bring 100 employers to campus on February 23, 2-5 p.m., in the Student Recreation
Center located at 275 North Campus Drive in West Chester.
The University’s Twardowski Career Development Center is coordinating the in-person fair that will enable hundreds of students to network and learn about current and future employment opportunities available in the region. One-hundred recruiters from business, education, healthcare, technology, as well as nonprofit and government sectors will be on campus to meet WCU students and alumni.
By speaking one-on-one with employers at the fair, students are determined to land job interviews for later dates. Exactly what are employers looking for these days?
“Employers are looking for employees who have command of emotional intelligence,” says Jennifer Rossi Long, a career expert who is director of WCU’s Twardoski Career Development Center. “In today’s hybrid job markets, employers want their employees to have skills that cannot be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. In addition to solid academic backgrounds, they need employees who bring skills that are inherently human --- interpersonal communication, creativity, problem solving, and empathy.”
There is also a give-and-take that appears to be much more prevalent in today’s job market. In addition to making positive connections with employers, many students are equally as interested in making sure potential employers’ values match their own and that employees’ best interests are top of mind.
As such, Long sees the phenomenon of the great resignation as an opportunity for students. “College students are coming into the job market with an advantage. Employers are listening to employees’ needs and organizations are willing to change.”
Much is currently being done by those at WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center to help students cultivate solid relationships with potential employees and to become comfortable with the process of interviewing. One of the many activities scheduled to take place March 1- April 28 will be “Relation-sips,” a conversation between an employer and a student over a cup of coffee at Saxbys on campus; the coffee is on the employer. During the casual conversation, students will be able to ask employers questions, inquire about possible openings, and even have resumes reviewed.
The fair is intentional in its multifaceted objectives. Ultimately, it has been designed to provide teachable moments to students at every stage of their job or internship hunt. In fact, the fair will even act as a training ground for job-hunting voyeurs or “first-timers,” students who will one day be pounding-the-pavement themselves for jobs or internships. While students interact with employers, graduate assistants will escort some job-hunting newbies who will watch intently as participant-observers and learn how one approaches an employer, what one says to an employer, how one dresses, etc.
“We are trying to attract first-year and second-year students to the fair, as it is ideal to start learning about the whole job-search process during a student’s early academic career,” shared Long. “Watching others who are actually in the ‘job and internship search mode’ helps build confidence about future tried and true strategies. It’s all about learning by observing, building confidence and then doing.”
All precautions are being met for the in-person job fair as participating students will have timed entrances to limit crowd control; booths will be draped on both sides to diffuse sound and minimize close employer/student contact; hand sanitizer will be available at each station; and employers will be mindful that handshaking is not a pandemic-friendly practice in today’s world.