Alicia Adams, junior in human science, said, “I was hoping there would be psychology or human studies, but I don’t think there was. I didn’t find anything to do with my major so I’m disappointed.”
Heather Basely, senior in health information technology, said only two businesses there were looking for her major. She went on to say that she was disappointed and she hopes next spring will prove more fruitful.
Other students, like Kara Hardmin, junior in construction management, found the career fair to be more helpful and beneficial.
“I get to a company and they’re ready to talk to me,” said Hardmin. She went on to say she found several companies related to her major. “This is my practice round before I turn senior,” she said.
Hardmin said the companies there were mostly looking for college of engineering, college of technology, and college of business, and while it benefits her, others might not find the fair as helpful.
Dawn Wyatt, a non-traditional student in business administration, also found the fair helpful. “There was a lot of opportunities here for business administration,” she said.
Wyatt said she is looking for a field in public relations. She has worked at the Mecosta County Hospital for 11 years and decided to go to FSU for a degree. “It’s the best thing I’ve done,” Wyatt said about going back for her degree.
Wyatt said the best thing about the career fair was the atmosphere. “You can see people reaching their goals and going towards the next step,” she said.
Angie Roman, director for career services, said the turnout for companies is the highest it’s been in the last six years with 126 companies. According to Roman, there was at least one employer there for every college at FSU. The student turnout was at 126, which is about average.
Roman commented that some majors at FSU are hard to represent because many go on to graduate school or get hired by small companies who are too small to send a representative to the career fair.
“We are tying to make it [the career fair] more diverse,” said Roman. She said this goal is slowly making progress each semester.
One thing many students noticed was that companies were directing students toward their websites in order to apply. Roman said this is due to companies following equal opportunity and federal employment laws. It is also a high tech way to screen applicants.
Roman wishes to assure students that they won’t get lost in the shuffle. If a student makes a good impression at the career fair, the company representative will flag his name in their application database in order to find him among the other names present.
Roman said the most important thing a student can do who is seriously looking for a job is to attend the informational sessions and meet with the employer there. The informational session serves as a pre-screening and shows the student is willing to show commitment to learning more about the company.
“We would like to see students continue to go to the informational because students walk out saying ‘Wow, I didn’t know that about that company,’” said Roman.
For students like Basely who are in Allied Health, there is hope for the spring career fair. According to Roman, the spring career fair will have an emphasis on companies offering opportunities in Allied Health.