Misssed Opportunites at Career Fair

Cherish Liles – Writer

On Mar. 20, Fayetteville State University held a Spring Career and Cooperative Education Fair.

The fair consisted of ten government agencies, thirty-five school districts, and nineteen other organizations offering jobs and internships to the students of FSU. Howe ve r, compared to the student population, there was a low percentage of students in attendance. Why was that so? Was it poor advertisement of the event? Did students just not want to attend? Did students feel as though the event didn’t apply to them? Did the career fair interfere with prior plans?

I came to the conclusion that it was a combination. I spoke with several students after the fair and they informed me that they were unaware of the event. This wouldn’t be the first time that FSU has held events that only a select few people knew about. However, the fault is not of those in Career Services; you would be surprised to discover the number of students that do not check their school email.

Other students revealed to me that they just did not want to go. I found this most interesting because there are jobs that are coming to us; specifically, to recruit us. Students were only required to wear business attire, print off a few resumes, and be in attendance. There were still many people who did not want to give up an hour or two of their time.

I continued to speak with freshmen to understand their nonattendance. They claimed that they did not attend because of the preconceived notion that it was, “too soon,” to start thinking about their careers. This is most notable because, not only were job opportunities there, but there were also internship opportunities that could lead to full-time careers.

As I furthered my research, I found that many students had classes or meetings that wouldn’t allow them to attend. This is a little more understandable because those are important prior events.

It is unfortunate that so many students are missing out on job and internship opportunities simply because they are not attending events. FSU truly does try to give its students as many tools to be successful as possible. Specifically, Career Services has mock interviews, resume critiques, and business attire students can keep. Yes, Career Services has a fully-stocked closet of business attire for students to wear and keep! FSU is doing what it can to help build your future.

There needs to be more of an urgency within the student body to shape their lives after FSU. After graduation, recruiters are not going to come to homes to offer jobs. The students of FSU should really take advantage of the opportunities being placed in front of them.