Public career fairs bringing diverse list of employers to WMU

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Large numbers of employers will be on campus in February for Western Michigan University's annual winter Career Fair and the Government and Nonprofit Career Fair.

Both fairs are free and open to the public. Preregistration is not required for the events, which are tailored to college students and recent alumni.

All job seekers attending the fairs should research employers in advance, dress professionally and bring copies of an updated resume. However, many employers will ask candidates to complete an online application in lieu of accepting a paper resume. WMU students also should bring their Bronco ID.

Career Fair 2017

The 39th Career Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Bernhard Center Ballroom. WMU's largest annual job fair, it is expected to attract more than 180 employers and 1,500 job seekers. Employers will be recruiting for interns and college graduates. Some may conduct interviews with selected candidates Friday, Feb. 10.

Participating organizations represent a wide range of industries, including advertising, motor vehicles, aviation, biotechnology, education, engineering, financial services, health care, insurance, manufacturing, research, retail and consumer products, staffing, technology and information technology, and transportation.

Career Fair 2017 is being sponsored by Career and Student Employment Services at WMU and Tyler Technologies.

Government, nonprofit fair

The Government and Nonprofit Career Fair is set for 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, in the Bernhard Center's East Ballroom. It is expected to attract 70 employers from federal and state governmental agencies as well as areas such as health care, environmental sciences, recreation, law and community action.

This fair is a partnership between Career and Student Employment Services and the College of Arts and Sciences at WMU and Kalamazoo College.

Preparation events

Weeks before the annual Career Fair, Career and Student Employment Services routinely starts scheduling a variety of preparation events for WMU students.

This year, they included job fair preparation meetings with professional staff members and interview practice sessions with human resources recruiters in addition to the following ongoing activities:

• Drop-in career advising from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Career Zone; noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising office; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and noon to 3 p.m. Wednesdays in the Parkview Café.
• Drop-off resume critiquing through Friday, Feb. 3, with critiqued resumes returned in 48 hours.
• Deployment of the Career Chat Kiosk near the Bernhard (Center) Café and Market from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 1 and 8.

Additional information

Details about the upcoming career fairs, including lists of the participating employers, are available at wmich.edu/career/events. Download the Fairs App for free at app.thefairsapp.com/#/school/13 to link directly to employer websites and fair information.

Direct questions about the fairs to event chairs Buffy Nespodzany and Amanda Jeppesen at career-fair@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2745.

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