Southeast career fair draws 300

To help connect more employers and possible job candidates, Southeast Missouri State University on Thursday held its first fall Career and Internship Fair.

At the Student Recreation Center-North, the event attracted 87 employers and more than 300 students.

"We're always looking at ways to connect those two very important components," said Joyce Hunter, coordinator of outreach and events for Career Services.

Hunter said she invited underclassmen to observe at the fair, so when it's their turn to seek employment, they'll know how to dress professionally, have copies of their resumes in hand and greet potential employers with a handshake.

Juniors Jon Murphy, international business; Matt Heitkamp, parks and recreation management; Marc Torbit, integrated marketing; and Thomas DePriest, cybersecurity; were dressed as instructed Thursday. They huddled to strategize about which employers they would visit.

"It's a great way to get to know recruiters, distribute resumes, and find out about the application process for either internships or full-time jobs," DePriest said.

Brian LaPlaga, general manager of Huttig Building Products, said this was the first time he'd been to a university career fair. The firm is developing an internship program, and he said he found a couple of prospects.

"We're a large organization," he said. "Between our corporate office in St. Louis and 27 other locations throughout the country [including Cape Girardeau], we're always looking for talent."

Lisa Kelley, executive director of human resources at Littleton school district in Avondale, Arizona, said this was her second recruiting trip to Southeast, having attracted five teachers last year. She said there is a "huge shortage" of teachers in Arizona.

"They come very prepared, and they're ready to go. It's a nice niche for us," she said of the university's education graduates.

Erick Harlow of Forensic IT in St. Louis, which applies root-cause analysis to technology issues, was successful in his quest for employees.

"I found someone not only strong technically, but who had good people skills," he said, which is important when a client is under stress.

The event featured a couple of improvements from previous fairs, Hunter said. Students wore tags with their names and majors on them, and employer tables had signs listing the positions they were looking for and what majors would best fit, she said.

Students who were unable to attend could upload their resumes in Southeast's e-recruiting system, REDConnect, to the Fall Career Fair Resume Book, where employers can view them.

Hunter said the fair was coordinated in conjunction with those at Southern Illinois University and Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, so they would run consecutively. "We're trying to take it up a notch. We're really looking at what other folks are doing and adopting best practices," she said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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