Constanza Flores | Staff Reporter
Posted April 14,2014; 2:52 p.m.
Published Legacy April 15, 2014
The Non-profit department held the first Reverse Career Fair of the year at the Hyland Performance Arena VIP Room on April 8. This career fair was a new opportunity for the students to showcase themselves and show their achievements to employers and organizations in order to get into the industry or find a job. In this event, students had the chance to hand out their resumes and information about them to nonprofit employees.
NPA students had the opportunity to have their own space at the VIP room to present themselves and bring certifications, presentations, demos, card presentations, writing samples, displays, letter of recommendations, etc. Each of the participants were able to talk with potential employers and promote themselves.
According to Julie Turner, PhD, associate professor and chair of Nonprofit Administration, employers who came to the event have viable and full time jobs in the nonprofit sector and are looking to hire. “It is important to do events like this one because this is a creative way for students to be able to promote themselves. This is a great way for students to be able to showcase their talents,” said Turner.
According to Turner, 13 students and about 13 employers attended to the event. “It started small, but I hope it continues to grow. Our intention is to do it twice a year. We will do one in November and one in April,” added Turner.
The intention here is that students can leave the university with a job. Students who come to this event are ready to work and are looking to start their careers. Christian Averill, a graduate assistant of the NPA, is helping to create and manage the “Reverse Career Fair” along with Dr. Turner.
“This is a great opportunity to help the community and the students to find a job. We are bringing the careers here, and everyone wants a job after college, so it is a great way to build that relation between the community and our majors,” said Averill.
Melissa Beste, a senior majoring in NPA, attended the event and presented herself with a big poster with her name on it and brought with her some souvenirs for the employees. According to Beste, she went to the event in order to help with networking and get a few job options before graduation.
“The benefit of this event is that employers who come in are actually hiring and not just looking for volunteers or internships,” said Beste.
Beste went to the event to learn more about the organizations around the community. Bianca Adams-Gaston, a graduate assistant in the NPA, attended the event in order to find a job. Adams-Gaston is graduating next May.
“I think that I will take from this opportunity experience and networking with different organizations and I will definitely improve my communications skills,” said Adams-Gaston.
Adams-Gaston brought with her business cards, a resume, a display board with pictures of her working experience, and she also printed out a research project that she is working on. She hopes to find the perfect job and continue learning through her career.
Court Buchanan, who is completing his masters in NPA, mentioned that he is in the process of looking at new career opportunities.
“I will look forward to be able and go out and provide the administrative support and care along with the developments and fundraising aspects of nonprofit organizations,” said Buchanan. “Also, I look forward to meeting so many people here. This is a great opportunity to represent myself, who I am, what I am about, and to be able to connect with other employers and other people,” added Court.
