Baldwin Wallace University’s Career Center partnered with the School of Business on Oct. 4, 2023 to host a Business Career Fair in the Center for Innovation and Growth.
While career fairs are not a new addition to BW’s list of activities, the 2022-23 school year was the first to bring about specialized career fairs pertaining to differing fields.
Patrick Keebler, director of the BW Career Center said the reasoning for the targeted career fairs was to “offer something for everybody.”
During the fall of 2022, a career fair specifically catered toward STEM majors was hosted followed by a career fair for communication studies students following in spring of 2023.
Dominique Edwards, internship and on-campus recruitment coordinator, said that the event provides a space for finding out what a student may want to know before working in the professional environment.
“It gives you the opportunity to meet employers and answer questions you wouldn’t normally be able to ask,” Edwards said.
The chosen specialization for this fall’s career fair was business. Julie Robinson, associate director for employer engagement at BW’s Career Center and the primary organizer of this event said that the planning and organization for this event was in the works since last spring semester.
Robinson said that the different businesses that were present at the event included a wide range of different sized companies and government organizations.
Each of the 34 different companies represented at this event had QR codes for fair attendees to scan in order to allow the employers to contact them about positions.
Out of the 34 organizations, five of them were sponsors of this event. These included Arrow Senior Living, Lincoln Electric, National Interstate Insurance, Penske and Union Home Mortgage. Each of these were featured at the front of the conference rooms at tables one through five.
The rest of the numbered booths were spread throughout the remainder of the room, with aisles for attendees to walk through to stop at each booth and talk with the employers. Students were able to introduce themselves, ask questions about the businesses and the representatives’ experiences and start crafting a professional network.
“It’s really important that our students have the opportunity to network with professionals,” Robinson said. “That’s why we offer events like this.”
Prior to the fair itself, BW’s Career Center also hosted a preparation event for students to attend where they were able to hone their professional skills.
Students were led through how to create a professional introduction and were encouraged to pick out their top businesses that they would search for at the fair. Students could also sign up to have their resumes and cover letters looked over by professionals. Representatives from each of the five sponsoring companies were there to assist.
Paige Shultz, a campus recruiter for one of the Career Fair’s sponsors, Union Home Mortgage, was a representative who was present at both the fair and the preparation event.
“I think this event, and career fairs in general, are important for students after graduation,” Shultz said. “It really gets you connected.”
Attending the career fair is a “great way to find entry level positions,” Marissa Luce, a senior Marketing major, said. “I’m trying to get more perspective on the future post-graduation.”
Spring of 2024 will bring another career fair to BW’s campus and will be directed toward careers that make a social impact, focusing on community and social service.
