This year’s USM Job Fair drew 48 exhibitors and hundreds of job seekers to the Sullivan Gym in Portland last Thursday afternoon. Students wandered up and down the aisles of employers eager to answer questions about job openings at their organizations. Senior accounting major Melissa Hayman was pleased. “The employers have all been really willing to talk and have a lot of information.”
Due to the poor economy and weakened job market, last year’s event had to be cancelled because of low employer interest. To help recruit these companies, Career Services decided to invite the general public and bring on co-sponsor JobsinME.com to assist with publicizing the event.
Coordinator for Professional Life and Development, Rodney Mondor said allowing the public to attend was a great chance for strengthening relationships with the community, and the partnership with JobsinME.com significantly increased USM’s marketing capabilities.
JobsinME Marketing Director Susanna Richer explained that, in addition to posting fliers and contacting career centers, they advertised to their 13,000 job seeker registrants as well as over 3,000 businesses. The company’s Managing Director Ed McKersie said “when we’re involved there’s usually more people coming through the door and more companies signing up.” He said the partnership with USM benefited his company as well. “We have found from the beginning that partnering up on these kinds of events is great because it gives us our target audience.” He said almost all students use the Internet to search for employment, so job fairs are “absolutely the place we want to be.”
Melissa Hayman said it was a great place for student job seekers, too. “It’s been very helpful. I don’t know how else I could network without having something like this. It’s nice to have it all in one place.” But, although she’s confident that there are jobs out there, she said getting one is going to be difficult.
Amy Patterson, who graduated from USM last May, shares Hayman’s outlook. Patterson attended in hopes of finding something in her field, but admits the current job market has left her somewhat overwhelmed. “I’m kind of at a loss in what direction I want to go, and it’s great to have a place to see different opportunities. It’s definitely beneficial for me.”
Mondor agreed that the entry-level job market is less than forgiving. “It’s tough. There are not a lot of jobs, and there are people who are overqualified looking for those positions as well.”
But some of the exhibitors said students were exactly the people they were looking for. Jan Crosby is the Human Resource Manager for Diversified Communications. She said her company is currently looking to hire more sales staff and came to the job fair to collect student resumes. “We like to talk to a lot of different students because we think they bring a fresh perspective to the job. They just got out of school, just learned the concepts and have that academic background.” She said sometimes the attitude and ambition students bring to a job can be just as valuable as work experience.
Mark Marroni, managing director for the Boston branch of John Hancock Financial Services agreed. “In the summertime we hire only college students. We want people who have the aptitude and desire, and we’ll make them what we want to.” Marroni thinks job placement is not contingent on the kind of experiences or degree a student has earned, but on their outward appearance and attitude. “Be positive, focused and determined about what you want to do. Sometimes students come across like a wet noodle. They need to put their best impression forward.”
That is what senior Media Studies major Josh Delile was here to do. Donning a sport coat and slacks, he scoped out the company booths, making contacts and gathering a handful of business cards. But, he said, “I think there seems to be a lot of the same types of employers. I’d say it would be better if we had a more diverse employer group.” And although he was thankful for the opportunity, Delile said most of the jobs didn’t correspond with his degree.
Mondor said this is a common complaint among graduating students. “Very few people have a job that they can say I like it 100 percent everyday.” He said students need to realize that many fields have transferable skills. McKersie of JobsinME said students need to view their first job as another class.
“It’s a matter of looking at it as a ticket to the dance, and starting to build your career.” He said although getting a college degree will help students advance, it doesn’t automatically entitle them to anything specific. “People come out of school and say ok, I’ve got my four-year degree and therefore I need to be making X, and I need this title. They’re focused on money and title as opposed to foot-in-the-door.”
McKersie said the entry-level market isn’t as bad as students might think. He points to an unemployment rate under four percent, but said students have to sometime be willing to “pull staples” for a while to get where they want to be.
For local job listings visit www.jobsinme.com or contact USM Career Services at 780-4220.
Amy Bickford can be contacted at [email protected]