Previously published in “The Stroud Courier” on Feb. 4, 2016.
This semester’s Career Expo Week, presented by East Stroudsburg University’s Career Development Center, will take place Monday, February 8 through Friday, February 12. It will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. each day in the Sci Tech lobby.
In previous semesters, the expo was a one day event held in the Keystone room. It was moved to the Sci Tech lobby because the Keystone room was already booked.
“Because space is limited in the Sci Tech lobby, we have to focus in on different areas,” said Daria Wielebinski, director of Career Development.
Each day of the expo is set aside for different types of employers.
Monday is for business, hospitality and high tech employers. Tuesday, hospitality and multicultural. Wednesday, art and design. Thursday, public services and education. Friday, healthcare and human science.
“The Career Expo is an employment and internship fair,” said Wielebinski. “It is an opportunity for students to meet with employers who have hiring opportunities or internships available.”
The expo will be open to all students and alumni from any major. Because some employers were only available one day of the expo, they will offer employment opportunities outside of the areas specified each day. So, regardless of major, students may attend each day of the expo and find an opportunity that fits their concentration.
Attendees are asked to bring their eCards and resumes because many employers will be collecting applications at the expo.
For those who would like to polish up their resumes, Career Development hosts Resumania workshops. These workshops will continue tonight from 3 to 6 p.m. in Stroud room 314 and Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. in Sci Tech room 145.
Resumania is designed to help students prepare their resumes and learn about job searching. To have a resume reviewed at one of these workshops, bring a copy of it on a flash drive.
Along with resumes, a 60 second elevator speech is essential when talking with employers. The Hershey Company, for instance, will be staying afterwards for on the spot interviews.
Expo attendees are also advised to dress professionally.
“If you dress seriously, people will take you seriously,” said Wielebinski, adding that commuter students will be allowed to keep a change of professional clothing in Career Development.
Professionalism, confidence and leadership are essentials for attendees, as well.
“With professionalism comes etiquette, firm handshakes and addressing employers properly,” said Wielebinski.
According to Wielebinski, each employer will have a name tag for easy identification.
“Have confidence. The fastest way to turn off a recruiter is to appear overly nervous,” advises Wielebinski. “Take a deep breath, look people in the eye while you speak, be able to articulate clearly and avoid filler words such as ‘like’ and ‘um.’”
For those who fear they do not have enough experience for a particular job or internship, look toward leadership and volunteer roles.
“Recruiters realize students may not have experience,” said Wielebinski. “So if you have leadership or volunteer roles, tie that into the opportunity you are talking to the recruiter about.”
Wielebinski also said attendees should not go into the expo without doing the necessary research on participating employers. Each employer is listed on warriorcareers.esu.edu and many have the positions they are hiring for listed as well.
In conjunction with Career Development, ESU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs presents Entrepreneurs in Motion during the expo on Tuesday, February 9. This part of the expo will take place in the Sci Tech Auditorium from 2 until 5:30 p.m.
“As opposed to a student meeting with employers, Entrepreneurs in Motion is designed to bring in multicultural business owners to interact with students,” said Lurine Allotey, Assistant of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “The whole idea is for students to think from a different perspective. We want to give them another option than just looking for a job. You can be a job creator yourself.”
Gerald Ephault will be Entrepreneurs in Motion’s keynote speaker. Ephault is the coordinator of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Center State System of Higher Education Student Business Plan Competition.
“He will be talking about the effectiveness of being an entrepreneur,” said Allotey. “He will set the tone for the businesses invited.”
Small business owners from a wide array of backgrounds ranging from finance to health to entertainment to food service are invited. They will talk on a panel about their experiences as entrepreneurs and answer any questions.
“Students can ask them questions like how did they get started in their business? What were the barriers and challenges they faced? What kind of help did they get? Who inspired them? And so forth,” said Allotey.
Entrepreneurs in Motion will focus on multicultural representation, but attendees of any background are welcome.
Along with this semester’s Career Expo week, Career Development will hold a summer employment expo on April 7. More information about the summer employment expo will be available at a later date.
But, even for those looking for summer jobs, Career Expo week will have summer opportunities available.
“If a student knows they want a summer job,” said Wielebinski, “be ahead of it by coming to the Career Expo.”
For more information about Career Expo week, contact Career Development at 570-422-3219.
Madison Petro 