Career-ready TU students have "Mega" opportunity Friday

By Kyle Hobstetter on April 10, 2018

The Towson University Career Center will host the 2018 Spring Mega Job and Internship Fair at SECU Arena on Friday, April 13, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The fair will again feature over 200 employers, with something for every major.  

Two years ago, TU’s Career Center was at a crossroads with this event. 

Then held in the University Union or West Village Commons, it was limited to just 90 employers. The Career Center was also seeing a high demand — with a waitlist of employers wanting to register. 

The Career Center decided to change venues, moving the Spring Mega Job and Internship Fair to SECU Arena, which enabled TU to host over 200 employers. After that trial run, the Spring Mega Job and Internship Fair has had a permanent home in SECU Arena.  

“Moving the fair allowed us to keep up with employer demand, which in turn gives students more networking and job opportunities,” said Keith Jones, the Career Center’s marketing and IT coordinator. “It also allowed us to bring in a broader array of nonprofit, for-profit, and government organizations from multiple industries to meet with the TU community.”

Participating employers include Target, NewDay USA, PNC Financial Services, SECU, Sherwin Williams, Mariner Finance, the United States Marines, T. Rowe Price, Stanley Black & Decker, and Enterprise. 

Students can view a complete list of attending employers by downloading The Fairs App (iOS or Android). Remember to dress professionally (PDF), bring 15-20 copies of your resume, and review the Career Center’s job fair resources.

Many of these organizations are repeat visitors to the Spring Mega Job and Internship Fair. And, according to Jones, a majority of attending employers recommend TU career fairs to their colleagues and other professionals. 

“According to our research, over 97 percent of employers who attend TU fairs say our students are career-ready,” Jones added. “We’ve also discovered that a majority of employers say that TU students are more career-ready than students at other colleges and universities they’ve visited.” 

Moving the Spring Mega Job and Internship Fair to SECU Arena has been such a success, the TU Career Center has also moved its Fall Internship and Career Fair to the venue. This gives students two opportunities to meet with over 200 employees during the academic year.  

More students are flocking to the event as well. The Career Center has seen a 60 percent increase in student attendance from 2015 (West Village Commons venue) to 2017 (SECU Arena).  

The upswing in attendance may be attributable to the increased number of participating employers, but Jones also credits it to TU students wanting to get an early jump on their future. 

While increasing the size was the key motivator for the move to SECU Arena, the expanded space enables the Career Center to offer students two pre-fair workshops:

• Job Fair Hacks Workshop | 10:15–11 a.m. | SECU Arena-Tiger Athletic Fund Room (Concourse)

Need assistance with perfecting your pitch? Meet with an employer and a Career Center representative to understand how to make, tweak and practice your 30-second commercial. This session will help you feel prepared and career ready when meeting with employers of interest.

• PAWS & PREP: 1:1 Assistance | 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m. | SECU Arena- Front Concourse

Before you meet with employers, gather your thoughts and develop your plan of action in the Paws & Prep area on the SECU Arena Concourse. Use The Fairs app to identify organizations you want to connect with and locate them on the floor plan. Feeling unprepared to talk with employers at the fair? Speak with Career Center representatives and recruiters for tips and insights on ways to perfect and practice your pitch. 

“We want students to be prepared for when they meet employers,” Jones said. “Students should research employers in advance, have intelligent questions prepared to show they’ve done their research, have a strong handshake, a compelling 30-second commercial, and, most important, they should be confident. 

“By researching employers in advance, students can use the valuable time with the recruiter to sell themselves, showing the benefits they can bring to the organization.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: Creating a World-Class, Lifelong Career Center.