Early back to school fair planned
Just weeks before the start of the school year, college students and job seekers of all ages are invited to a Back-to-School Job Fair at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Davida Cavallo, career services coordinator on campus, said the job fair had been held later in August in previous years to coincide with new student orientation.
“Employers said they love it because they need to hire people and they like college students because they want to work to help support their education, but they found they had no time to train them,” she said.
This year, the job fair will be held Monday from 9 a.m. to noon at the student lounge in the Williams Building, giving employers two to three weeks to train new employees before the start of classes for the fall semester.
Employers that have signed on to participate are First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Golden Corral restaurant, Mary Kay cosmetics, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, United Parcel Service, among others, Cavallo said.
Most of the employers looking for workers offer flexible schedules and will work with students to accommodate their class schedules. Some of the employers offer tuition reimbursement programs, she said.
“They understand that you’ll have mid-terms and finals and they know about your class schedule,” Cavallo said. “They know the people that they are getting.”
She said about 80 percent of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus students work while attending classes.
“We get a lot of students in the first part of September coming to us saying they need a job while they are in school, but by then it’s too late,” Cavallo said.
The fair, which is open to the public, will also provide students an opportunity to learn more about different programs and activities.
Students will also be introduced to the Career Services program on campus, which includes workshops, speakers, and roundtable discussions.
Anyone wishing to attend the job fair should bring resumes and/or copies of their job history for completing applications. The attire for the event is business casual.
“We use this as an educational tool to help people learn about what job opportunities are available in the area and to learn how to present yourself at a job fair,” she said.
“We hope a lot of people take part in the event.”
For more information about Monday’s job fair, call Career Services at 724-430-4127.