By Mariah Bennett | Staff Writer
The Career Center will be hosting its biannual Career Day from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.
Amy Rylander, director of the Career Center, said the event will feature over 150 employers and is a great opportunity for students of all majors to look for jobs and internships.
Jonathan Echols, communications and media manager for the Career Center, said Career Day is a great time to network, get experience talking to employers and see what is out there in the professional world.
According to the Career Center 2021 Annual Report, there was an 86% overall placement rate for students seeking employment.
“Internships are one of the greatest ways for them to gain experience,” Rylander said.
According to Echols, there will be more employers than the 114 who were present at the Spring 2022 Career Day.
“I think this is probably the broadest spectrum … of employers we’ve ever had,” Echols said.
According to Rylander, employers in attendance will include Academy Sports + Outdoors, Samaritan’s Purse, Johnson & Johnson, Argus Media and Foamtec International, among others. She also said about 21 of the employers are directly from Waco.
Rylander said that while students in the College of Arts & Sciences may have previously felt that Career Day isn’t for them, there will be close to 100 employers this year who are interested in them specifically. For example, she said Gartner is looking for history or English majors or for students who simply love to research and write.
Echols said there are many tools and resources set up for students, such as resume templates and Handshake — a portal similar to LinkedIn on which students can make connections and find job opportunities within the Baylor community. Rylander also said JobScan and a map of the fair are available.
Rylander said it is important for students to complete their Handshake profile and upload their resume after registering for Career Day.
“One of the things we do for recruiters after Career Day is we send them basically a resume book of every student that came to see them, [and] each individual employer has a QR code,” Rylander said.
The dress code is professional, and Rylander said to dress for success. She said she recommends students get formal attire from affordable places like Amelia’s Fashion Exchange, Goodwill, Plato’s Closet and JCPenney.
“That doesn’t mean you have to wear a three-piece suit,” Rylander said. “Dress for the job you want.”
The Career Center’s next Career Day will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Feb. 8. The location will be announced in the near future.
Rylander said the biggest piece of information students should know is to not be afraid to talk to employers.
“To me, Career Day is like ACL but for the employers,” Rylander said. “They pay one ticket price to see a bunch of students. They are looking to hire fresh-out-of-college students. There is nothing our students should be afraid of.”
