By Ashley Altus
Reporter
Students of all majors can find opportunities at a internship and career
fair despite misconceptions that companies only consider hiring students with
specific majors.
Majorie Ellis, the executive director of career and professional development,said companies are looking to hire students with transferable skills that can fit in
anywhere.
“Regardless of your major, students have to be confident in what skills they have. They have to really be prepared to figure out what they do know,” Ellis said.
Kevin Nall, the director of employer relations, said he encourages students to attend a career fair to network and to find new companies.”
“If they’re not hiring for your major, I would use that as an opportunity for networking,” Nall said. “You can ask the recruiter who’s here who you should talk to about your specific interest and at least you can have someone on the inside that’s trying to help you.”
Dallas senior Hayley Cumberland said she feels there are not many companies who come to the career fair looking to hire her major.
“A lot of them are very specific, and my major is more of a general major,” Cumberland said. “I feel like it’s all for accounting and business majors.”
However, Ellis said employers are more focused on past work experiences than applicants having a certain degree.
“You don’t have to be a management major to get that type of job,” Ellis said, “You can show your experience through volunteer or paid positions, showing you
know how to handle decisions.”
El Paso junior Andy Davila attended the internship and career fair this past
semester to look for internships for his political science major.
“I met with a government agency and found some other opportunities They are really looking for any major; it didn’t really matter,” Davila said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most common careers for liberal arts majors are management, sales, design, teaching and social work.Between 60 to 70 percent of employers coming to the internship and career fair will consider any major when hiring, said Nall.
Nall said The Allstate Corp. recruits any major in its leadership development program.
“They’ve hired people from anything out of theater arts to accounting majors and anything in between,” Nall said.
Nall said he suggests that students look at the companies attending the upcoming internship and career fair at 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Waco Convention Center to see which ones they might want to work for.
“As a job seeker you’re going to be looking for skills and experiences that are what your employer is looking for,” Nall said. “All you need to do is connect the dots between what they’re doing for in that job description and your background. Liberal arts students are as capable of doing that just as everyone else.”
