Diverse list of employers participating in two career fairs

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Scores of employers, half of them new to recruiting at Western Michigan University, will be on campus next month participating in the annual winter Career Fair, which is open to the public and being preceded by many student-oriented preparation events already underway.

WMU's 38th Career Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11. The University will follow up that long-standing event with the second annual Government and Nonprofit Career Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12. Both events are open to the public, being held in the Bernhard Center Ballrooms and tailored to college students and recent alumni. Preregistration is not required.

Lynn Kelly-Albertson, WMU executive director of Career and Student Employment Services, says the University is offering more opportunities this year for WMU students to get ready for the fairs, and for good reason. Kelly-Albertson notes that in addition to drop-off resume critiquing and drop-in career advising, there will be three mock career fairs and a mobile Career Kiosk, where students can learn about the employers who are coming to the fairs and get advice on how to prepare for them.

"Those events accentuate the skills and traits that hiring organizations are looking for in students, regardless of academic major," says. "According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, today's employers place the most emphasis on finding students with a good work ethic who can articulate their career goals and who are proficient in the areas of leadership, solving problems, communicating through speech and the written word, collaborating with others, respecting differences, and using information technology and data management."

Career Fair 2016

Career Fair 2016 is being sponsored by Dimplex Thermal Solutions and WMU's Career and Student Employment Services. This annual winter event is expected to attract some 180 employers and 2,000 job seekers. Employers will be recruiting candidates for internship, co-op, part-time and full-time positions. Some may conduct first-round interviews with their selected candidates Friday, Feb. 12.

The organizations that have registered to participate so far represent 42 industries, and half of them are new to the event. Among the industries represented are advertising, automotive, aviation, biotechnology, education, engineering, financial services, health care, information technology, insurance, manufacturing, retail and consumer products, research, staffing and transportation.

Government, nonprofit fair

The Government and Nonprofit Career Fair is being hosted by WMU's Career and Student Employment Services and College of Arts and Sciences, with support from Kalamazoo College. More than 60 employers have registered to participate in the event. They are looking to fill internship, part-time and full-time positions.

Many employers represent state- and national-level organizations, such as the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Department of Homeland Security; FBI (Detroit division); Peace Corps; Michigan Department of Human Services; and Michigan State Police. Other employers are located or based closer to WMU, and a few are based in nearby states.

Student preparation events

WMU students are encouraged take part in the various career fair preparation events that are planned on the main as well as the Parkview campus. Pre-registration is requested or required for some events.

A detailed list of preparation events is available at wmich.edu/career/events#prep. They include:

• Drop-in career advising, going on now at multiple times and locations.
• Drop-off resume critiquing with pick up in two days, Tuesday through Friday, Jan. 19 through Feb. 5, 1401 Ellsworth Hall.
• Mock career fair sessions Wednesday, Jan. 27, Thursday, Jan. 28, and Tuesday, Feb. 2, at multiple times and locations.
• Drop-in and chat career kiosk from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20 and 27, as well as Wednesday, Feb. 3 and 10, on the Bernhard Center's first (main) floor.

For more information about the upcoming career fairs, visit wmich.edu/career and click Events. Direct questions to Buffy Nespodzany and Amanda Jeppesen at career-fair@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2745. Learn more about WMU's career services at wmich.edu/career.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.