OCU Career Services hosted a career week for students from Feb. 14-20. Students were contacted in advance about registering for events and scheduling meeting times with company recruiters. Students were able to communicate virtually with recruiters from a long list of companies across a spectrum of career fields and were provided with extensive advice about entering the work field as young adults.
Monday, Feb. 14, was the day representatives from Career Services tabled outside the Caf to aid students in registering for the week’s events. Tuesday, Feb. 15, was the All Majors Career and Internship Virtual Fair held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. using the online platform Handshake. Students were given the opportunity to schedule individual meeting times in advance with company recruiters.
OCU chose to hold this career fair virtually to continue Covid-19 mitigation efforts. According to the Handshake website, a virtual career fair provides three unique benefits, “No more long lines; Early session sign-ups; [and] Chances to stand out to recruiters.”
Handshake, a site where employers can connect with potential employees, provided many blog posts aiding students in preparation for virtual employer meeting sessions. One of the biggest pieces of advice was that students should have a prepared ‘elevator pitch’ for individual meeting times with employers. The elevator pitch was described in the blog post as “a short and sweet synopsis about yourself for a prospective employer.” It is called an elevator pitch because it should be short enough to share on a typical elevator ride. Handshake recommended including one’s field of study, relevant work experience, and relevant certifications in an elevator pitch, tailoring it to the potential employer.
Recruiters from 28 different companies were available for student sessions in Tuesday’s Virtual Fair. Different career fields were represented, including technology companies, popular franchise management programs, military service branches, and nonprofit organizations. Notable companies that sent recruiters included City Year, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Love’s Travel Stops, Northwestern Mutual, Teach for America, and the US Navy.
Wednesday of career week featured the “Young Professionals in the Workplace” webinar from 5:30-7:00 p.m. on Zoom. Information on the webinar stated it would include panelists speaking about “the recruitment process, being a new employee and gaining respect, how OCU prepared them for the workplace, and much more.” Speakers were Ellen Roth from the National Association of the State Department of Agriculture, the Actor/Director/Costume Designer Isaiah Williams, Shannon McKenrick from the Harding Fine Arts Academy Foundation, Kyle Wallace from Arizona State University, and Mariah Johnson who is a family nurse practitioner as well as an OCU adjunct professor.
All OCU students, faculty, and staff were invited to attend the webinar Wednesday but were required to pre-register for the event.
Thursday and Friday of career week were days for students to pick up vision board kits, which were designed to aid with setting personal career goals and defining one’s career path.
Saturday, Feb 20, at the Penn Square Mall JCPenney, students received an offer for up to 60% off select items from 3-6 p.m. when shopping in-store. The ‘Suit Up’ event allowed students to add professional work clothes to their wardrobe at discounted prices. Career services staff were present at the store and aided students in selecting professional apparel.
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