Photos retrieved from the McKendree University Instagram
This past Wednesday, McKendree’s annual career fair was held in the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts. A record number of 76 different employers and graduate schools were registered for this year’s fair. Tables of organizations such as nonprofits, businesses, police departments, graduate schools and government agencies lined the Hett lobby and wrapped around the stage. Many of these organizations were looking to hire part-time or full-time employees or had internships to offer. The fair also gave students an opportunity to practice networking, even if they were not looking for a job or internship at the moment.
McKendree’s Marketing and Communications department was at the fair to take professional headshots for students to use for their LinkedIn profiles. Career Services also helped prepare students for the fair in advance by providing advice, reviewing students’ resumes, sending out a list of the registered employers and providing brief information about all the employers on Handshake.
After the fair, I spoke with Kira Johnson, a sophomore communication major who attended the fair. When asked if the career fair changed her view of the job search process, Kira said, “Yeah, I think so. Only being a sophomore, I haven’t really been thinking about it much. … So, it kind of just put it on the front of my mind, like I can actually go out and reach out to people and start thinking about what I actually want to do after graduation, instead of just waiting for graduation to come and figure it out.”
For future career fairs, however, Kira wishes that more graduate programs, such as law schools, will be involved. She said, “I didn’t see any [law schools] there, and I want to go to law school afterwards. So, different schools like that and other graduate programs, I think that would be really beneficial.”
The McKendree career fair connected many students with hiring organizations. However, students do not have to wait until next year to learn more about the job search process. Career Services is available to provide students with resources, advice and information about job openings all throughout the year.
