Raider recruitment: Fall Semester Career Fair brings students, alumni and employers together

More than 100 businesses will be on hand for the Wright State Career Fair, which is open to students and alumni in the Student Union on Sept. 16.

Employment is just over the horizon for students.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., students and alumni interested in co-ops, internships and career positions are encouraged to attend Wright State University’s largest Career Fair to date. There will be 112 companies and businesses throughout the Student Union looking to hire anyone that meets the mark.

From Gentex Corporation, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base AF Life Cycle Management Center, to the Peace Corps, Office of the Ohio Attorney General, Dayton Children’s Hospital and many more, employers of all kinds will be in attendance at the Career Fair.

The Career Fair is open to students and alumni of all majors and career pursuits.

In years past, Career Services hosted more focused Recruitment Days, where each day would be devoted to a specific field. Joseph Slater, Ph.D., interim associate vice president for career and workforce development, said the switch to a more global focus works out in everyone’s favor.

“This is the first time that we went to an all-student and all-companies Career Fair,” said Slater. “And in doing so, this is the largest Career Fair to date. We are having more companies participate than when we had specific Career Fair days designated for only one field.”

Slater said the rationale is that when companies participate, they’re not necessarily looking for just one major. “Before, they would have to come on two separate days to find different kinds of students,” he said. “When companies are here, they’re often looking to hire for more than just one type of position.”

But as always, students and alumni planning to attend are encouraged to dress for success and to arrive with résumés in hand.

“It’s important to dress professionally,” said Charlene Walker, associate director of career services. “Having the right suit or dress can really give you the right brand or image that lets the employer see you as not a student, but a professional or a potential employee.”

Walker considers herself to be a career coach. By interacting with potential employers and marketing oneself, Walker says the Career Fair is an opportunity for students and alumni to put the practice and preparation Career Services offered a week ago to the test.

“Students engage in step-by-step process necessary to find a job,” said Walker. “Candidates need to be remembered by employers and they are beginning to establish their professional reputations. On top of that, students will network, which is possibly the most important thing in finding the right career.”

From making the appropriate eye contact and being able to give a firm handshake, Walker says even the tiniest details can make an impression on future employers.

“Also, a big thing is having a powerful elevator speech, something the student can say in under 30 seconds to a potential employer that describes all of the need-to-know information about him or her: their name, major, aspirations and what they can offer the company,” said Walker.

To learn more about the Career Fair and the employment opportunities offered at the event, contact Wright State’s Career Services at (937) 775-2556 or Career_Services@wright.edu.