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SXU’s Career Services will host the 2016 Spring Internship and Job Fair on Friday, February 19. The fair will be held in the Shannon Athletic Center from 12:00pm to 3:00pm. The Internship and Job Fair has been a semiannual event for many years. Mary D. Fitzpatrick, Career Services assistant director, said that Saint Xavier University has been hosting these fairs since before 1998, when she first started working at SXU.
This year, over fifty organizations have registered to participate in the fair. In order to register for the event, organizations were required to fill out an online form and pay a $75 fee. According to Fitzpatrick, the organizations that will be in attendance cover a wide range of fields and there will be something for almost anyone.
Participating organizations include TCF Bank, Advocate Healthcare, Illinois State Police, Walgreens, and YMCA of Metro Chicago. All positions that recruiters will be looking to fill are based in the Chicago-land area. The full list of companies registered for the fair can be found on the SXU website, keyword: job fair. Organizations still have the opportunity to register, so they list may continue to be updated until the day before the event.
In an interview with The Xavierite, Fitzpatrick stressed that students from all grade levels should take advantage of the fair. “All levels should come because it is an internship and job fair, so every level can benefit from it. If you’re a senior you’re looking for fulltime work, you definitely want to be here. If you are a freshmen, sophomore, or junior and you’re thinking about an internship-which you should be thinking about- you want to come by and talk to employers,” said Fitzpatrick.
Students can also benefit from the experience of attending an internship and job fair even if they are not looking to get hired. Fitzpatrick explained that lowerclassman could learn much from watching their more experienced peers.
“Even if you are a freshman and you are not yet ready to get an internship, you should really think about it because it’ll make you comfortable approaching employers and selling yourself, and talking about yourself. So, it’s good to just walk around and kind of see how it’s done; watch other people, see how they talk to employers. But certainly freshmen can be looking for an internship too at this point,” said Fitzpatrick.
When asked what students should do if they are nervous to attend the fair, Fitzpatrick answered that preparation is the key to alleviating some anxiety. “It’s normal to be nervous. Everyone is nervous at things like this and recruiters know that, it’s understandable. But one of the ways to sort of ease that nervousness is to do your research, research the company, know what the company is about, know what the position is about that you want to go for,” said Fitzpatrick.
Students can also prepare for the internship and job fair by meeting with someone from Career Services to discuss strategies and tips about interacting with employers. To schedule an appointment with a member of the Career Services team, call 773-298-3131 or send an email at careerservices@sxu.edu.
Career Services is also hosting workshops called “Navigating the Internship and Job Fair” on February 17 at 12:00pm and February 18 at 3:00pm. The workshops will take place in the Career Services Modular Unit, which is located behind Pacelli Hall
Fitzpatrick also discussed the importance of students being prepared to explain to employers why they are a good match for the positions that interest them. “See what the position description entails and think about what your skill set is that matches that. What have you gained in your classwork, what have you gained in your paraprofessional experiences, what have you gained at your part-time job at McDonalds that can make you a good candidate for either the internship or part-time position, depending on what you are going for,” said Fitzpatrick.
Finally, Fitzpatrick advises students to make sure that they dress professionally and bring plenty of resumes that are in great shape. According to Fitzpatrick, students who are well prepared for the fair have a good chance at making a great impression and potentially getting hired.
“We find that, every internship and job fair we have, there are hiring stories, as we call them. People do get hired from our internship and job fairs and the beautiful thing about it, and I say this all the time to students, is that when an organization takes the time to sign up, pay the money to come, the want to see Saint Xavier University Students,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick also emphasizes that there is an advantage of exclusivity to the job fair being held at SXU. “They’re not wanting to see UIC students or other university students, they are coming here specifically to see Saint Xavier University Students. So already you have an advantage, because you’re not competing with thousands of other applicants. You’re really only competing with your classmates, and really, we’re not a huge university,” said Fitzpatrick.
Yasmeen Abdellatif
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