Students advised to prepare for Wednesday’s Career Fair event

Getting a job after graduation can be tough; the job market is often difficult to maneuver, but UW-River Falls Career Services is helping students by inviting them to attend the annual UWRF Career Fair.

The Career Fair, hosted by Career Services, is coming to campus on Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will be located in the University Ballroom and Falcon’s Nest in the University Center.

Bring your resumes, dress up to meet prospective employers, and put on your most professional manners to come meet with company representatives. This is your chance to shine. Before attending, students can prepare themselves by attending the prep session on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

The prep session will be held in the Falls Room of the University Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The benefit of going to the prep session is giving those students who have never attended a career fair and have no idea how to successfully prepare information. To be a success at the Career Fair is not limited to actual jobs attained by the student population at the fair, though.

Although there has been very little hard facts to document results from universitytype career fairs, few would deny the possible benefits to attendees: making connections, earning internships, networking, gaining contacts, interview experience, selfpresentation, and the art of the resume are just a few. The prep session provides handy help to achieve these goals.

Career Services offers the prep session to assist students in getting the most out of the experience.

Director of Career Services Melissa Wilson said: “The best thing that a student can do prior to the Career Fair is research.”

Wilson also said information about companies attending the prep session and details of the event can be found on the Career Services website.

On Career Services’ website directions can be found to download a new app called “UWRF Career Fair Plus,” which provides detailed information about the fair.

“This is the coolest thing we have done all year in Career Services,” Wilson said. “We are very excited about it.”

Included in the app is a map of where different company booths are located in the ballroom, information which companies you may want to research pertaining to your major, and info on which companies hire internationally or hire international students. Many more features on this app can also help a student have success at the Career Fair.

Eric Brown, a computer science major, has attended past UWRF career fairs and said, “I thought it was a really good experience, exposure to a lot of people you would normally not be exposed to.”

The exposure can lead to success after graduation. Almost all major universities and colleges hold career fairs year after year with the goal of giving all students interested in opportunities for future success.

More information about the Career Fair can be found at uwrf.edu/careerservices/, or by phone at 715-425-3572.

The office is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in 211 Hagestad Hall.