Going into a crowded stadium alone with little more than a few sheets of paper in your hand and desperation akin to a starving lion – or cougar, I suppose – is daunting, to say the least. This is why the Academic Success and Career Center has been putting on prep workshops for the past few years, making Cougs feel more comfortable in an inherently uncomfortable environment.
There are over 10 workshops in the expo prep series, and all are fashioned to hit different aspects of both the spring career expo and general recruiting. Amanda Morgan, interim director of the ASCC, said students can attend as many as they want.
“The intention is not for you to do every single one, but rather to provide you a menu of services that you can choose from that really meet your needs in terms of where you’re at and what you’re looking for,” Morgan said.
The most popular workshop is undoubtedly the free professional headshots. Morgan said because of high demand, they have added a second photographer this year to accommodate a surge of students.
Other workshops include resume building and reviewing, guides to specific types of employers and career narratives from alumni to reinvigorate and advise nervous students. Nearly all are either hybrid or completely virtual, and many are workshops specifically with employers who will be at the expo.
Morgan also encouraged students of all majors and years to attend the fair and prep series. Many companies hire all majors, and students may be surprised at what work they can find with an untraditional degree. Employers are not just hiring for permanent positions either.
“For our first-year students, it may be harder to visualize the importance of attending their career expo, but I will say, semester over semester, when we look at the employers who are coming…over 70% of the employers who are attending are also hiring for interns,” Morgan said.
With this in mind, attending as a first-year student is still valuable. Morgan said even if first-years have little experience, gaining connections and the simple fact of attending helps immensely in future years.
“Our first-year students really should be looking at that as kind of like a draft year and make all the mistakes now, figure it all out, and then later it becomes that much easier. At least that’s the goal, right?” Morgan said.
On a last note, Morgan mentioned the impressiveness of how many employers still come to the career expos.
“I know right now, like all the headlines are, you know, ‘economic downturn’ and ‘no one’s hiring’,” she said. “The fact that we have, you know, over 100 employers that are willing to give up their time and travel costs and resources to come and recruit Cougs, I think, is pretty powerful, and I think that that just showcases the power of the Cougar network but also the caliber of students we have.”
The spring career expo will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in Beasley Coliseum. The spring version of the expo has fewer employers than the fall expo, but there will still be more than a hundred in attendance.
A comprehensive list of the expo prep series can be found on the ASCC’s website.
