With 180 companies registered, the fall Career Fair in the Wesley Student Center on Nov. 5 was filled to capacity, offering many career opportunities to seniors and summer internships to juniors and freshmen, said Stephanie Boon, director of career services and fair coordinator.
Boon said, “This was another great Career Fair because there are a lot of companies interested in hiring our students. All of the trades were well represented and the companies came from 17 states with 41 new companies. Students in each trade had many companies to pursue to see if it is a good fit for their career goals. Those of us who work at Williamson bring the resources in and it is now up to the students to do the work that leads to employment. We are also here to help them. We encourage them to do their research and take their time to find the right fit for their career plans.”
She added that the skills the seniors are using to find their first full-time employment and juniors and freshmen are using to find summer internships are skills they will need throughout their careers. “They will use these same skills they are now learning in the future if they decide to change companies or rise up within a company.”
Boon said she is happy there were so many new companies because they give the students who have been to our career fairs in the past new companies to pursue. “New companies are attracted to our career fairs because word is spreading about what Williamson is all about and what great employees our graduates make.”
Boon said the filled-to-capacity attendance was due, in part, to increased marketing efforts. “Between myself and the Advancement team, we got the word out that the Career Fair is approaching and you need to sign up early to ensure a place. We also get new companies each year as a result of the increased publicity of the college from various marketing efforts, including the segments Kevin O’Connor, host of ‘This Old House’ on PBS, has done.”
Many alumni were in attendance as company representatives because their employers realize our students feel comfortable talking with someone who went through the same school, she said.
The afternoon of the Career Fair offered opportunities to benefit students in their career pursuits, including the career readiness Work Space and Military Recruiting. The Work Space attracted about 90 students to the Strine Learning Center to do follow-up work, such as email employers they are interested in, research companies that caught their interest, and fill out employment applications.
The Military Recruiting event included representatives of the U.S. Air Force, Marines, the Army, and the Army National Guard speaking with students about entering the service.
Additional help for the students came from a Career Fair Panel, in which five alumni spoke to the underclassmen about securing internships, making the most of their internship experience, and other aspects of the importance of internships. The alumni were: Thomas McKelvey 7W7 (Power Plant), Frank Lill & Son; Tim McLaughlin 0W3 (Masonry), PECO; Thomas Updike 2W5 (LCM), Bates Landscaping; Benjamin Wright 0W6 (Horticulture), Longwood Gardens; and Don Yates 1W8 (Carpentry), MC Construction.
An Alumni Mentoring Night was held on Oct. 30 in which 16 alumni mentored 50 students to help them prepare for the Career Fair. The evening began with networking and continued with breakout sessions for freshmen and upperclassmen covering topics such as networking, career guidance, and advice on how to make the most of life at Williamson.
Planning is already underway for the spring Career Fair on March 10. For more information, contact Boon at 610-566-1776, x419, or sboon@williamson.edu.
