MU Hosts Annual Career Fair Virtually Due to COVID Restrictions

Alexandria Collins

The annual spring Career Fair continued this year, despite the coronavirus pandemic. But this year it was held remotely, on Mar. 10.

Instead of meeting face to face with two chairs and a table, students met with representatives from companies and organizations via webcams for around 45 minutes per session.

Tish Kalita, organizer of the Career Fair, as well as director of Career and Professional Development, made it her priority to ensure that the fair was as successful as in years past. So she stocked the fair with opportunities for students to speak to companies and organizations about full or part-time employment as well as internships.

The individual career appointments offered a long list of opportunities for students, like career assessments, how to gain experience (job shadows, internships, etc.), mock interviews, LinkedIn discussions and online image reviews.

Organizations and companies had the help of the website Handshake.com, where students would register and the businesses could look at who may be interested in a particular job.

Thirty-two organizations signed up for the fair, including 1st Source Bank, Anderson University’s residential MBA program, Grow Wabash County, Indiana State Board of Accounts, Manchester University’s graduate and doctorate programs, Marian General Hospital, the Bowen Center, Thrive Ministry Leadership Residency and Timbercrest Senior Living Community.

Senior Tristan Machuca attended the fair looking for potential job opportunities and met with organizations such as Welch Packaging, BKD CPAs & Advisors, and Northwestern Mutual. Machuca describes his experience as “helpful, as one company provided tips on marketing and how to be more marketable to other employers.

Machuca was fortunate enough to have a well-functioning computer and webcam, though he noticed other students having issues with connections due to the virtual meet-up. “I saw many people struggle to maintain a steady connection to the fair,” he said. “It is hard that way to put your best impression first.”

Although there were some technical issues, overall Machuca said that the group meeting went very well. “However,” he added, “the private one-on-one meeting were a bit short and I would love to get more information of the opportunities present for some organizations.”

Overall, Manchester’s Career Fair helped many students to get their foot in the door with opportunities, whether that be mock interviews, exchanging of information, or LinkedIn image reviews.