By Sydney Fairbanks
Williamson College of Business Administration will host its Meet the Employers Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 7 in the Weir Atrium in Williamson Hall.
Meet the Employers Day is a biannual career fair that allows students to connect with employers.
Throughout the event, students can get to know what companies offer and seek interviews for prospective positions and internships. Students can also discuss their career goals with employers and provide them with resumes.
Upon arrival, attendees will check in and receive a name tag. At each table, students can scan a QR code to connect with an employer.
All students are encouraged to attend, but the event is primarily focused on those with business, accounting, finance, administration and marketing majors and minors.
According to Christina O’Connell, director for WCBA’s Center For Career Management, Meet the Employers Day began in conjunction with the annual STEM Expo.
“It was right around 2015 that the WCBA decided to break away and have their own Meet the Employers Day because there was a need for more employers and to stay here in the college,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell and the organizing committee began preparing for the event three to four months in advance. The process began with reaching out to employers, informing students and faculty of the event and updating Handshake with the current list of employers.
A week before the event, the committee prepares questions for students to ask employers and creates a booklet with the employers listed. The committee also provides students with tips for interacting with employers.
O’Connell said she encourages students to research the employers and companies they are interested in before the event.
“It’s important that they look in Handshake to see all of the employers that are coming and to do some research on the companies — especially the ones that they want to speak with and have a potential internship with or a full time job,” O’Connell said. “Employers don’t expect you to know everything about them, but they also don’t want to be asked ‘can you tell me about your company?’ or ‘what does your company do?’”
According to Judin Balella, a graduate assistant in WCBA, students can find information about the employers on Handshake.
“If you go to the events tab [on the WCBA Handshake] there’s the Meet the Employers Day 2024. You’ll find all the lists of employers. We have about 50 coming this semester, and then if you click on each of the companies, you can learn about the company,” Balella said.
Balella said he has seen success come out of Meet the Employers Day from personal experience.
“I was a student attending the event, and then — with the company I was with — I was on the other side of the table as a recruiter,” Balella said. “Now, I get the 360 experience of being part of the organizing committee for that event,” Balella said.
WCBA also offers mock interviews and resume reviews to any student looking to prepare for the job application process. Appointments can be scheduled through Handshake.