This year’s job fair consisted of more than just potential employers. It also included a mentoring lounge full of alumni and successful business owners from the community. The mentoring lounge was back this year by popular demand, with an outside look at what it means to be successful in the real world. A place where any questions, concerns could be addressed and advice could be given. With approximately 20 mentors interchanging throughout the day, there were stories shared and inspiration in the air.

Another great addition to the fair this year was the LinkedIn Professional Photo Opportunity. Students were able to get professional head shots taken, that they could use to update their LinkedIn profiles.

Just by overhearing different students, teacher and alumni talk it was unanimous that the opportunity to have professional headshots taken was a bonus. Walking by you could hear the students excitement, most made comments like: ‘It’s a one stop shop’, ‘this is so cool, can’t wait to update

Better Than Ever!In The Right Direction

Overview look at the job fair and some of the em-ployers involved. The DC/UOIT students and grad-uates are busy networking and building key relationships.

Outreach Coordinator Louise Stiles is in charge of the job fair and all the planning that goes into it.

my linked in’. It was a huge success and will continue in years to come.

Look out for next year’s job fair it is something new and exciting every year with new opportunities and employers seeking students just like you.

“It is another key on your keychain and it might open a door one day.”

”

REFLECTIONS | SPRING 2016

Bigger And

With a total of 79 employers, this year’s Durham College job fair exceeded all years past and proves bigger is

better!In the past the job fair has capped off at 65 employers, but

this year it expanded and is proof of a growing interest from employers in the skills of DC graduates. DC and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) offer an annual job fair to encourage students and alumni to come out and network with a variety of potential employers. With countless opportunities to build relationships with local, provincial and national organizations, the possibilities are endless.

“This was our biggest fair yet, there is summer, there is part-time, theres full-time there are solid companies that have multiple departments,” says coordinator Louise Stiles.

Louise has worked on the job fair for a total of 18 years. She begins working on the February fair as early as July or early August of the previous year by sending out ‘save-the-date’ notices to potential employers. It is key to give the employers enough time to gather a team to send out and to allow them to budget for the event, she says.

Registration opens early October with an early bird price of $300. It is open until the first Wednesday of January, after which the price goes up to $400. It is important that students and alumni realize these employers are paying to come out to

the job fair to look for quality individuals, so collectively we need to show them we are those quality people, she says.

Jobs range from seasonal, part-time to full-time and potential careers. Coming out to the job fair is about networking with these companies to build relationships with potential employers.

“One big thing I want to stress is to put yourself out there, make the connection and always follow up. It is another key on your keychain and it might open a door one day” says Stiles.

Job fairs tend to send out teams looking for individuals within a certain program or area of study, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other positions within

that organization.“Employers may

come out and be looking for someone in accounting this time around, but it doesn’t mean that in two weeks or two months they won’t be looking for an employer in HR,” says Stiles “Just because you may not find something one year don’t let that discourage you from coming out in the future and building those relationships.”

Talking to these employers may take people out of their comfort zone, but that is exactly what it is suppose to do, says Stiles. It allows students to network and learn about a variety of organizations and build rapport with employers, so that if in the future an opportunity in your field does come up you’ve built that relationship and made a memorable impression.

Career Team Guide Students BY LAKEISHA JONES

PHOTOS BY LAKEISHA JONES AND COURTESY OF DURHAM COLLEGE

DC and UOIT students sign in at the job fair registration desk as they prepare explore and meet their potential employers.

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