UM-Flint Hosts Workshops Leading up to February 7 Career Fair

The February 7 University of Michigan-Flint Career Fair offers students a chance to make a wide range of professional connections. And this year, there will be several events leading up to the fair to help students prepare for the big day.

There are career preparation workshops February 1 and 2, a Twitter chat February 3, and  a resume-focused interactive workshop February 6.

"These events are geared to help students prepare for the career fair," said Myesha Cannon, a UM-Flint career advisor. "It's not just about resumes and cover letters, but it also focuses on how students can present themselves and sell themselves in 60 seconds at the career fair."

The sessions will help ease any anxiety students have before the fair, and provide them with information and strategies to succeed, said Sara Barton, manager of the university's career center.  The workshops include advice on how to dress professionally, conduct interviews and what to do before, during and after the fair to best build relationships with employers, said university career advisor Emily Bank.

The full list of pre-fair events, along with information on what will be covered, can be found on the UM-Flint Career Center website.

The fair will be held from noon to 3 p.m. in the Riverfront Center, and features about 80 employers and graduate schools.

The afternoon provides students an opportunity to speak with companies about jobs, internships, and professional expectations. There are student preparation rooms, employer work spaces, and special rooms for onsite job and internship interviews.

Students from all fields of study and class levels are encouraged to attend. The event goes beyond landing an immediate job, Barton said. It is highly valuable for students, especially first and second year students, to learn about the expectations of potential future employers.

"They should be coming there to investigate industries, learn from those employers about how they recruit, when they recruit, and what are they looking for," she said.

Students can often find professional mentors at these events. The list of employers attending come from a wide variety of fields and industries, such as healthcare, education and human services, STEM, staffing and government.