THUNDER BAY – Finding a job out of university can be a daunting task.
Most student emerge from post-secondary institutions with plenty of ambition, but not a lot of experience to go along with it.
Finding that first job is the end goal, but getting there can be challenging.
It’s why Lakehead University each year sets up a career fair at the Agora, a chance for potential employers to set up shop to meet and network with an eager group of students looking to take those first steps down the employment path.
Josh Richardson, a third-year mechanical engineering student at Lakehead, said it’s a great way to make first contact with potential employers, break the ice and see what’s out there for soon-to-be graduates.
“Even though I’ve had experience working in the industry myself, it’s still nice to be able to talk to all sorts of different employers from different industries to see what you can get into, as far as where your education is taking you,” Richardson said.
Knowing employers want to be there and want to encourage students to apply for good paying jobs is also encouraging, he added.
At each kiosk, company representatives explain what they’re looking for and what opportunities might await.
“A lot of companies are trying to grow. I’ve found, in my experience at these recruiting fairs, that there is a need for young individuals to get into certain industries because the older generation is starting to retire here,” the Alberta native said.
“So space is opening up.”
Wayne Bahlieda, a human resource co-ordinator at North of Superior Counselling Programs, said his organization is looking to bring in five new employees, and said students fresh out of university are often just what they’re looking for.
The career fair is a tremendous event to allow them to find qualified workers who want to jump right into the industry.
“It allows us to showcase our wares to a number of students who we are targeting for future employment.”
LU is the perfect hunting ground, he added, with future graduates of the social workers program looking for post-education careers.
“That’s our target market. Experience is irrelevant. We realize that they need experience, but as long as they have that degree in social work, that’s of interest to us.”
Harsh Vaghela, studying his master’s of computer science at the Thunder Bay school, said job fairs are important to connect with employers and while most direct students to their websites, it’s still a chance to interact face to face.
“We can still ask about the technologies they work with and they also give us the information about what we should do to get the right job with (them),” Vaghela said.
Kristen Bohonis, the Career Zone co-ordinator at Lakehead, said the two-day annual event on average draws between 300 and 400 students each day, with employer kiosks changing hands on Day 2.
Wednesday’s event is one of four career fairs held on campus each year.
“Basically we have this event to connect students with employers,” Bohonis said.
“The employers are here today to hire students that are graduating, summer positions and co-op positions. So we want to try to give the students as many networking opportunities as we can with the employers.”
