The opportunity to meet an employer, establish a connection, and interview for a job that very same day is not a typical experience.
On Feb. 15, Job Pursuit, an annual job fair hosted by Michigan private universities in Lansing, Michigan, will give Hillsdale College students that chance. Over 50 companies will be present ranging from fields such as business, social services, and government. Students will have the opportunity to meet with employers in the morning, and then in the afternoon be formally interviewed for an actual position or internship. Some companies that will be represented include Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hantz Group, and Alro Steel Transportation. Lunch will be provided by Career Services, and students can sign up through Handshake or the Career Services offices. The deadline to sign up is Feb. 8.
“The two types of people who would want to go to this are one, someone who’s looking for a job or internship, and two, someone who just wants real employer-networking and interview experience,” said Assistant Director of Career Services Rebecca Galvan.
According to Galvan, Job Pursuit is unique since all employers are required to interview, and even if students aren’t asked back for an interview, mock interviews will be available.
“You’ll have interview practice no matter what,” Galvan said.
Sophomore marketing management major Dennis Fassett plans on attending the fair and is excited for the unique interviewing format.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing how the networking is going to work in the morning and how to work the conversation from ‘Hi, my name is Dennis,’ to ‘OK, so we’ll be interviewing at 2pm today,’” Fasset said.
On Feb. 11 and 12, Career Services will be offering two preparatory seminars to give students advice and more information regarding the fair. Galvan mentioned that students who want one-on-one advice can also make appointments with Career Services “to walk through their game-plan individually.”
Both Fassett and Galvan stressed how great of an opportunity Job Pursuit is for students looking for jobs or internships.
“It’s all just going to be right there and you can interview that same day and either get part of the interview process out of the way or maybe get an offer,” Fasset said. “It’s all sitting there for you —you don’t have to go looking for it.”
