By Julia Vergara | Staff Writer
The HireaBear Career Fair is connecting students and alumni to employers on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center on Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Baylor’s Office of Career and Professional Development (CPD) is hosting this event to help students and alumni find professional jobs and internships.
Haley Davis, career events and program coordinator for CPD, said that there will be 70 employers and organizations who are looking to hire a wide variety of majors.
“We really did a focus on majors within the college of arts and sciences but there are going to be employers for everybody—business, engineering, computer science,” Davis said. “You name it—it’s probably there.”
Davis said that CPD focused this years’ career fair on students in the college of arts and sciences because there are so many different paths and options for a liberal arts degree and it is important to see what all of their options are.
Some of the companies looking to hire include AT&T, Amazon and ConocoPhillips. Davis said that students can find a full list of companies, what majors they are looking for and the positions they are looking to fill on Handshake, which is an online database that connects students and alumni to employment opportunities.
According to CPD’s website, “the keys to a successful job fair experience are preparation and follow up.”
In order to prepare, Davis said students should do research beforehand. She suggests that students go through the list of companies on Handshake and make an A-list and B-list. An A-list should consist of companies that the person is interested in most and the B-list should consist of companies that the person is not as interested in, but would still like to speak to.
Students and alumni should also prepare a 30-second introduction or “elevator pitch” before arriving at the career fair. Davis said that a good elevator pitch should include one’s full name, major, classification, their career goals and how they can contribute to the company. A good elevator pitch should grab a recruiter’s attention, start a conversation and show why that individual is a necessity to their company.
“Do that preparation before—research those companies, have your resumes ready,” Davis said. “That will help maximize time for attendees.”
According to Davis, at the HireaBear Career Fair, students will check in right outside of the elevators on the fifth floor and receive a nametag with their name, major and classification. CPD will have somebody outside of the door doing last checks and making sure students and alumni appear as professional and prepared as they can before walking through the doors. Once inside, attendees will receive a map to help them find the companies they are looking for.
During the career fair, Davis said students should ask for recruiters’ business cards in order to follow up with them, either by sending them a letter or an email. Davis said that recruiters notice when students do not follow up after a career fair.
“They talk to a lot of students, not just at Baylor but every school,” Davis said. “So every little detail that you can add in there showing that you care, that you remember really stands out.”
