On April 15 Sinclair will be hosting its 25th Career Fair at the Dayton campus from noon-3 p.m. More than 100 potential employers will be there, making it a great event for those looking to advance their career.
On average one in five students who attend the fair succeed in finding a job, and many others still make worthwhile connections. The event is free, and while it is primarily geared for Sinclair students and staff, any students as well as any members of the community are more than welcome to attend.
Felicia Wethington, one of the organizers for the event, said she would encourage students to come if they can. Wethington also wanted to encourage students to drop by the office if they want help or practice before the fair, as they will be hosting two drop in days on April 6 and April 8 from 9-11 a.m. at their office building 8025 to assist students. Wethington made it clear that preparing ahead of time would be greatly beneficial.
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“Employers will be hiring for full-time, part-time and internship opportunities. We just really want our students to come prepared, so bring things like copies of resumes and dress properly to impress the employers,” she said. “We always tell students to have what we call an elevator pitch ready. So when you go talk to a recruiter, you tell them your name, your major, some skills that you have and what you’re looking for.”
Wethington also emphasized the importance of “soft skills.”
“A lot of employers that I’ve talked to are really focusing on transferable skills. [Many] things can be taught, but… they can’t teach you how to communicate with other people and be a team player and those types of things. So I think if you’ve got some of those, what we call soft skills, and you’re able to convey those to the employers, it’s definitely what they’re looking for.” Wethington said.
Wethington explained that the career fair was great for making more personal connections, as physically handing someone a resume will leave more of an impression then an impersonal online application would. Wethington also noted that the employers understand that students are often skilled despite lacking experience, so it’s not as competitive as an online job posting.
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However Wethington also said that it would be a good idea to look up information about the fair on the website and have a game plan before arriving, as a big turnout is expected with more than 500 attendees last year.
Erik Larson, reporter
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