At the Job Fair, I had an informal interview on the fly with a corporate human resource coordinator from Menards, who was extremely impressed with my combination of college and professional experience. After the Job Fair, I received inquiries for interviews from about seven of the companies. Menards contacted me and wanted me to attend what I thought was going to be an interview. However, when I got there the person I met with showed me the job description and gave me an offer and told me how much I was going to make, including full benefits.

The moral of my story is that the Job Fair works. Even if you are not going to work for the company you interview with, it gives you valuable experience in a professional setting. The Job Fair allows you interaction with a bevy of different employers ready to hand out job offers to qualified candidates. Many Ferris students, especially those in the College of Business always say, "there's never any employers looking for business majors." My response is that employers have different needs and you have to inquire about different openings within the company. In addition, you have to start somewhere. Many of the companies that come to the Job Fair may not be the most desirable or prestigious but they offer you an entry-level position where you can gain related work experience that will help you get the dream job you deserve.

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From: Tara H.

Subject: Thank You

Dear Ms. Renne,

Thank you for the opportunity to work at the Career Fair. I worked the Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 Career Fairs. My job was to greet employers, show them to their tables and assist them through out the day with anything they may need. As a Career Fair Volunteer I was not looking for work as I am not scheduled to graduate until December 2007. I did, however, hand out my student cards to the employers who asked for them. I took full advantage of the networking opportunity by making small talk with employers as I greeted them. In March of 2007 I received a call from Honeywell, an employer I met at the Fall 2006 job fair five months prior. He said he had a position become available and immediately thought about me. I just recently interviewed with him and the opportunity looks promising. In addition, I attended the Fall 2007 Career Fair seeking employment. Because I had worked two prior Career Fairs, some of the employers recognized me and called me by my first name. I spent the afternoon talking with employers and handing out my Resume. That day, I received 3 offers to interview and within a few days following, 2 e mails from employers looking to set up an interview with me.

I am so glad I worked the Career Fairs before actually attending one looking for work. Employers shared numerous helpful tips, on a personal level, and the networking experience was a huge advantage for future networking success. I would encourage ALL students to take advantage of the opportunity to work the Career Fair as I did.

Thank You Again,

Tara H.

College of Business/ Business Administration

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Hi,

My name is Jessica B. and you came to Prof. Papo's class last semester to talk about internships and writing a resume. What i did was took the advice and packet you gave us and put it to use.

I first looked at a book about resumes to figure out what format would be better for what field i am going into and what kind of job i am looking for, just so i could get an idea on what i wanted my resume to look like. All the info i used was out of the packet i received. Most helpful was the levels of competency sheet. I'm a printing major so that sheet helped me to come up with words to help describe what i know how to do on the different levels of equipment.

After my resume was finished a job offer came to our class looking for printing students and only a few of us met the criteria. however this job was out of state so i got the idea to approach a different newspaper company that is in my hometown to see if they were aware of internships that Ferris offers and how similar newspaper companies are involved with the program. I later figured out who the top person was and did some research. I wanted to work for a newspaper so i did some research on the publisher. The publisher is active in the community chairing a few festivals. That gave me an idea to use that in my cover letter. I used the format given to me in my packet and made sure to mention how important the community around the company was important to me and thats why i chose that company over the competitor out of state that offered me the internship.

They didn't have an internship position but after talking to the publisher he was impressed so much with my letter and resume they called me for an interview and for the first time they opened an internship for a printing major in their printing facility.

What i learned in that class session was helpful enough to land me an internship and for that I'm thankful. Since then i have made a few copies of the packet and handed them out to people who yet to hear about what the career center has to offer.

Thanks again for taking the time to speak with us and it is all very helpful

Jessica

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