College graduates often face different obstacles and need assistance when venturing off to find a career in their field.
A Career Fair Prep event, called “Career-Chella,” in the Ned R. McWherter Library on Monday was designed to help University of Memphis students gain the attention of employers as well as prepare them for the U of M Career Fair on Wednesday.
Yolanda Dillard, the assistant director of Employer Relations in Career Services, said the fair is being hosted to prepare students for job searching and give them ideas of what employers are searching for in an employee.
“Every employer has a particular candidate that they’re looking for,” Dillard said. “Many employers recruit at the University of Memphis because they understand our students are driven by doing and have the academic background to support their particular major.”
The fair prep included four presentations: How to dress, how to connect, how to research employers and how to follow up with employers.
Laura Wichman, a Career Services coordinator, talked about how to dress professionally for the upcoming fair ,while also giving advice on first impressions.
“You want to make the best possible impression you can to an employer,” Wichman said. “Its going to be the first time that they see you, and the first time that they make that split-second impression about you.”
To Wichman, the way candidates present themselves can really go a long way. She and Brian Deal from Student Leadership and Involvement gave suggestions to women and men, respectively.
“More for the men … shirt, I encourage you to wear a white shirt,” Deal said. “That’s always a safe bet, but if you don’t have a white shirt, colors to turn to are a lighter blue, even a gray depending on the color suit you have.”
There have been studies that found employers aren’t as interested in college students, Deal said, and that is why it is important to catch as much positive attention as possible with appearance.
Deal said the best way to follow up with employers is to email them the day after the fair or interview.
Alana Hudson, recuiter with FAST I.T. Company, gave tips on how to search for employers based on one’s personal interests.
“Whatever is your main interest in terms of finding a company, finding a job, you want to keep that [your main interest] in the back of your mind when you are researching those companies,” Hudson said.
Freshman Kaity Parks, a finance major, said even though professionalism is very strict, it has given her an idea of how to dress properly for an interview.
“I did learn stuff about jewelry and little things you should use like perfume,” Parks said. “You can use it, but not too much.”
The Career Fair will be in the University Center Ballroom on Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. Students are required to dress professionally for admission into the fair.
Laura Wichman of Career Services instructs students on the how to properly dress for the career fair. Wichman also gave students tips on prepare for the career fair.
