By Sarah Wang | Staff Writer
Baylor’s Spring Career Day is right around the corner scheduled from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in two new locations on campus, the Bill Daniel Student Union Center (SUB) and Cashion Building.
Career Day is a campus-wide career fair hosted by Baylor’s Career Center every Spring and Fall semester, with employers connecting all majors and fields of study. On this day, students meet with recruiters to discuss jobs that are non-profit, for-profit or internship opportunities.
Different from last semesters, the 2023 Spring Career Day will take place in two locations, with the for-profit companies mainly on the fifth floor of Cashion Building and the non-profit government organizations in the SUB on the second floor. Previously, Career Day was typically held in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.
Amy Rylander, director of the Career Center, and Jonathan Echols, communications and media manager of the Career Center, together offered advice for students on what to prepare for Spring Career Day.
What kind of students should attend Career Day?
Echols: “All of the students. The Career Center is open to, and we have employers that are interested in, students of every major.”
How should students prepare to go to Career Day?
Rylander: “First of all, they need to register in Handshake for Career Day so that they can get a full list of the employers and the positions that they are recruiting for.
“That way students will start being able to research the companies and the positions to see which ones they’re interested. They’ll be able to fit their resumé or tailor their resumé to those. And if they need help fixing their resumés prior to career day, they should come to the career center so that we can help them with that.
“Additionally, students are going to want to plan the way that they navigate Career Day, since it is in two locations. They want to make sure that they get to each of the employers in each of the location. While they’re there, so they’re not running back and forth.
“On top of the resume, they’re also gonna want to practice something called an elevator pitch, which is just a quick thirty to one minute introduction that the student does for each employer, and that allows the employer to immediately.
“One, that students done research and has an interest in their company and the position, and two, that the student knows what qualifications are needed and they’re telling them that they have those qualifications.”
Are there any tips from the Career Center on interviewing?
Rylander: “Well, typically those don’t happen on career day, but they happen the day after career day sometimes. So it’s really important for students to fully understand what the job that they’re interviewing for entails. That way they can think through all of their experiences so that they can let the employers know how their experiences fit within that role and have trained and prepared them for that role.”
What is the dress code for Career Day?
Rylander: “It is business professional. That is, a business suit or something that you would wear in a formal business setting. A lot of times students think it’s okay to go more casually because we are in a casual work environment in a lot of places, but at career day, you want the employers to see you at your very best. So, professional dress.”
Do you have any advice or message for those who are not planning to attend?
Rylander: “They don’t know what they’re missing. This is a great opportunity. Sometimes students don’t think there’s anything for them, but I promise there is something for every student at this career day. It might not be something that they want to do forever and ever, but what you’re looking for as a college student is experience.
“Sophomores and juniors need to be looking for internships, and the internships that they get can either help them to know exactly what they want to do or exactly what they don’t want to do. So it’s kind of a trial period for a job. A lot of times students come back from those internships and they have full-time job offers.
“For students looking for full-time jobs, these are entry-level positions for college students, so there shouldn’t be any hesitation in going, thinking that they’re not qualified. The recruiters are coming to Baylor because they know Baylor students have the qualifications they’re looking for.”
Echols: “Even if they think that they’re not interested or they’re sure that they’re not interested in finding so, this is a great opportunity for them to just get experience and visiting with employers and seeing what it’s all about.
“They don’t lose anything and they gain the experience of having done this. I think it’s a great experience that for every single student.”
What is the most important thing students should consider about Career Day?
Echols: “It’s understandable to be afraid or have some fear or anxiety about it, but it can just be an experiential thing, a fact finding thing. So there’s really nothing to be afraid of, because there’s nothing to lose.”
Rylander: “Students need to understand that this is a learning opportunity for them, and it’s experiential learning. It’s to actually talking with the people who are in the roles, Baylor alumni who are in the roles, and it’s really just a fact finding mission.
“What Baylor students need to realize is that these employers are coming to campus to see them. They are the main event, so it’s like they’re the rock stars of the concert.”
