INSTITUTE, W.Va. — As the Spring semester winds down at West Virginia State University, employers are actively looking to hire students who are preparing to graduate.
About 55 employers were on the WVSU campus for an Employment Expo Wednesday. More than 80 recruiters were on hand to talk with students about full-time, part-time and internship positions.
“They’ve got positions all over the gambit from health care to management, we’ve got some federal, some state, social services type facilities,” said Sandy Maharaj, director of Career Services in the Department of Education at WVSU.
Businesses also represented finance, human services, law enforcement, communications, technology, sales/marketing, retail/merchandising, operations and more.
Most job applications are online, but Maharaj said it’s good for students to meet employers face-to-face.
“With the whole job search online, that can be lost in the masses. Here, under one roof, you can actually meet in person 83 people that have their own network of people,” she said.
One of those employers was Speedway. The company is mainly looking for part-time workers.
“Most time it’s part-time when it comes to just being a cashier. It just really depends on your work ethic. If you come in and you’re a good worker, we’ll bump you up. A better worker always gets more hours,” said Jody Escue, recruiter at Speedway.
Speedway offers a lot of part-time hours, said another recruiter Chris Beaver.
“Most industries only give 10-15 hours for part-time people, which in turn they got to get a second job. We like to give them at least 32 or more,” he said.
Escue said the company offers tuition reimbursement, career advancements, double time pay on holidays, health benefits and a 401k even for part-time employees.
Among the other organizations on hand were BrickStreet Insurance, CAMC, Manpower, the Peace Corps, the state Division of Personnel, the West Virginia State Police and more.
Several senior and junior students were at Wednesday’s job fair, but the university was also hoping younger students would come out to get a feel for what kind of courses they want to take in the future.
“We encourage the freshmen and sophomore or those that aren’t really looking to come here and gather information about what skills are needed and company information in terms of what they’re looking for and that way it can help them hone their academic programs,” said Maharaj.
The job fair runs through 2 p.m. Wednesday in the James C. Wilson University Union.