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Highly Employable
Career Center plans job expo for students and grads
By Ginger Shepherd
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The event, which will be held on the third floor of the Learning Resources/Graduate Center, could potentially feature as many as 75 recruiters, said John Brown, the center's director; he added that they won't turn any company away. Spring Career Expo will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As for the type of companies that will participate, Brown's goal is to bring in two companies for each major. Typically, however, there is a high concentration in the technical support, engineering, and customer service fields.
During the fall expo, companies and organizations such as the American Red Cross, Dish Network, Penloyd, Whitaker House, Mental Health Association, and LeSea Broadcasting came to ORU to recruit.
"Recruiters feel well-tended to here," Brown said, explaining that students are available to help unload and set up displays and check to see if company representatives need anything during the day-long event.
Brown said the expo will include employer exhibits, workshops, and on-campus interviews.
The event usually draws 1,100 to 1,200 hiring candidates--students and alumni, Brown said. That's close to the center's goal of bringing in 1,200 to 1,500 candidates. This spring, the College and Career Guidance Center is working with the university's student newspaper, The Oracle, to publicize the event, with a series of articles and a special pull-out section.
One of the first articles, he said, will explain why students should go to the career expo. The idea is to draw in more than just senior students--to also get freshmen, sophomores, and even juniors to the event so they can start exploring different career fields and opportunities, he said.
"Freshmen and sophomores need to be exploring their options," Brown said. "They're not just here to take classes."
For juniors, the career expo accomplishes a couple different things, he explained. It can assist them in finding summer internship programs as well as get their name and face to employers a year before they really start looking.
While the partnership with the student newspaper has the goal of getting more students there, it is also a chance to provide more information about job preparation. Brown said in the series of articles, students will learn how to better prepare for the expo. The special pull-out section will feature a map of the event and a list of the organizations.
For candidates, whether they are students or alumni, the event offers a better chance of finding a position. Brown said the expo provides face-to-face contact with employers, so candidates aren't faceless applicants whose only impression is made through an application.
Although the event is designed to help students and alumni transition into or perhaps change careers, the expo also serves as a way to promote the university and quell misconceptions held by corporate America.
"ORU is not just some Bible school, but a fully accredited university," Brown said, adding that the university offers a host of majors from math and engineering to liberal arts. Besides the Christian atmosphere, ORU also provides a smaller student population than most state schools.
Brown believes "the quality of (ORU) candidates that companies have recruited is much higher."
There is a bonus for alumni employers. Brown said through the expo, alumni can hire employees that have a similar background, belief system, character, and quality.
Brown noted that if more than 75 companies sign on for the March 1 expo, the event will be moved to Christ's Chapel.
For more information, contact the College and Career Guidance Center at 918/495-6912. Web address is http://careers.oru.edu.
Companies interested in being a part of the Spring Career Expo can sign up by clicking here.
For more information about the Tulsa area click here.
