CU career fair offers students chance to find job amid recession

By CHARLY MARKWART

ATHENS — To students graduating college and seeking employment during this period of economic recession, a room full of employers looking to hire might seem far too good to be true.

Nevertheless, that is exactly what hundreds of Concord University students walked into Tuesday, when the college’s recreation and tourism management class hosted its third annual career fair in the campus’s main ballroom.

“We have approximately 50 employers here today, and they are all offering jobs immediately,” said Susan Williams, who teaches the class. “While we’re seeing all of this on the national news about a recession and a slow economy, we are certainly enjoying a prosperous time in this region, if you use this fair as any indicator.”

Company representatives participating in Tuesday’s entirely student-led fair indeed seemed eager to interest CU’s pool of potential employees in their respective fields, and Williams said that’s exactly what the event was all about.

“This fair is planned by students, for students; we just want to create awareness about jobs in the area, not only for seniors, but for freshmen, as well, who can come out and learn more about their particular career path,” she said. “We wanted to make an environment where the employers could just come in and talk to the students, and the students could learn.”

While the informal, student-friendly fair began as an opportunity for recreation and tourism majors to network with potential employers, this year’s event was intended to appeal to a broader base of students. Featuring representatives of companies from the National Park Service and the Social Security Administration to West Virginia American Water and Theater West Virginia, the career fair held a little something for students of all majors. More than 120 students attended last year’s fair, and increased numbers were expected Tuesday.

“We have a little bit of everything,” said senior Courtney Neese, one of the event organizers. “We had about 20 businesses last year, so we’ve more than doubled. The university holds a career fair sometimes, but I think students respond a little better to this, because we’ve got their interests in mind. It’s just a great chance for students to come out and get a job in this economy.”

According to Lisa Lilly, WorkForce West Virginia employment service’s representative at CU’s fair, the search for that first job is becoming a much more involved process for today’s college graduates.

“Getting a job is entirely different now than it was 10 years ago,” she said. “You used to be able to just fill out an application and that was it, but that’s not so nowadays. You have to have a really good resume; you have to network. You really have to sell yourself now; it’s about marketing yourself.”

Chris Scott, a job seeker from Beckley who attended the fair, agrees.

“I’m looking for a job in computer science, and because of the economy, I’ve heard that especially a lot of the government jobs are tightening up,” he said. “In my job search, I’ve seen that experience is the main thing; everybody’s looking for specialized training and experience prior to getting that entry-level position.”

Still, Lilly says, there are opportunities out there for southern West Virginians willing to put in that extra effort.

“There are availabilities out there,” she insisted. “I don’t know if I would go so far as to say there are a lot, but we see new companies looking to locate into West Virginia everyday. The state is still growing, and employers are still looking to come open up in West Virginia.”

That’s good news for students like Maria Mihova, who will graduate with a degree in broadcasting journalism in 2010. Searching for internship opportunities at Tuesday’s fair, the concerned student explained how the economy has altered her plans for the future.

“I’m thinking about doing the master’s program, just to wait it out and see if it gets any better,” she said. “With the economy the way it is now, a lot of people graduating this year are doing that same thing.”

But depending on their chosen line of work, students hoping to enter directly into the job force upon graduation can still find success, said several representatives at the fair. According to Kay Bess, of the Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the tourism and travel field is one area with a broad spectrum of professions available.

“So many students coming out of college are not aware of the possibilities in the Bureau, or what our mission is all about,” said the director of sales and marketing. “I’m out here to educate people who are interested in finding out, and letting them know that there are opportunities in this field. From everything that we have heard, there are a certain number of people who will continue to travel, even in these times. Travel and getting away with family remains important to people.”

CU senior recreation and tourism management major Chase Rivera has observed that stability during his ongoing job search.

“I feel like the economy hasn’t affected my field,” he said. “If I wanted to stick around here, the job opportunities are awesome. It’s a little harder since I want to go someplace else, but working with tourism, I guess people are still going to get out and do things.”

And other regional professions, as well, are still going strong. While the Beckley-based Theater West Virginia nearly became a victim of the economic times recently, Master Teacher of Acting Pam Chabora says that a strong community rally has put the entertainment organization back on firm ground.

“We have lots of jobs available, and we’re in good shape,” she said. “That’s why I’m here today. It’s awesome and wonderful that we can come here and network with people; we have this great new college intern program and hopefully we’ll get some interested theater kids today. But, we have jobs from the front of the house to the box office and the technical side. We have rallied, and we’re going to soar.”

— Contact CharLy Markwart at cmarkwart@ptonline.net.

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