By Arden Berry | Staff Writer
With blazers on and resumes in hand, from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday students filled the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center for campus-wide Career Day.
Employers filled the Hurd as well. Career Center Director Amy Rylander said this Career Day would be at capacity with about 115 employers.
“We sold out about four or five weeks ago,” Rylander said. “It means employers want to meet Bears.”
Employers included newcomers to Baylor’s Career Day, such as Gary Baxter Entertainment, which recently bought radio station ESPN Central Texas (KRZI) and Kendra Scott. The event also featured many returning employers.
“We want to know that the companies coming here have hired our students before, because I don’t want a company showing up that’s just here to check the box,” Rylander said. “I want them to come and actually hire our students. So if they have history hiring our students, they get on the list to get invited. It’s a privilege for companies to be here.”
Among the employers, Huntsville, Ala., freshman Caleb Johnson, a Business Fellow and chemistry major, said he found a wide range of opportunities related to his majors, though mainly business-related ones.
“All the people there were super great,” Johnson said. “I had some definitely good interactions. Being a freshman, I don’t always have that much that I can offer, so I was really appreciative of the time that they took just to chat with me and talk about my trajectory.”
Rylander said even freshmen or sophomores not looking for jobs or internships immediately could attend Career Day to get their professional headshots and see the opportunities available.
“The thing that you can do at career day is just see what’s out there,” Rylander said. “Talk to different employers to see what you can do to be ready for when you do want an internship.”
Middletown, R.I., freshman Thomas Miller said he joined the line to get his professional headshot as soon as he arrived.
“I feel like I should make an effort to get involved in career things, even if it doesn’t seem fun or too relevant right now,” Miller said. “What really sealed the deal for me was the free headshots.”
In preparation for Career Day, Rylander said the center created a new AI Copilot to help students find jobs that match their major and skills.
“It allows a student to put in their resume or even tell them what their major is and some skills they have, and the agent’s going to tell them which employers they need to go see,” Rylander said. “It will also explain what skills you have and [how] what major you have applies to those different employers. So not only will it do that, but it will help students articulate their value.”
Littleton, Colo., junior Emma Dewitt said she prepared for Career Day by finding the employers on Handshake relevant to her majors — human resources management and supply chain management — and applied for their available internships.
“I feel like all the employers I talked to really wanted to talk to me and have a good connection,” Dewitt said. “Once I told them I already applied for their internships, they were more interested.”
Overall, Rylander said it is essential for students, regardless of their major or classification, to understand how their current work can be applied to future employment, including their involvement in events like Sing or Pigskin.
“It’s really just the piece about understanding about the skills that you have,” Rylander said. “Those skills that you’re building right now transfer into a variety of different things.”
