Camosun College’s upcoming Trades and Technology Career Fair is designed to be an opportunity for students to network with potential employers and to explore their career paths. It gives students a chance to meet face to face with people working in—and hiring in—their field, according to Camosun co-operative education and career services marketing officer Sally Coates.
“It’s for students to go and talk to the various employers—to find out not just do they want to work for that particular employer but also to get inspiration,” says Coates.
Coates says she has had many students realize that they may want to shift paths after connecting with an employer at the fair.
“Maybe if they’re taking a program, they talk to the employer, and they find out, ‘Wow, I’m taking computer information systems, but maybe the security aspect of it I find fascinating.’”
In addition to career-path clarity, the fair offers the chance to start down these paths, thanks to networking and interview opportunities with potential employers.
“Many people get permanent careers out of these career fairs,” says Coates, “and also many people arrange co-ops.”
While Coates can’t say for certain how many students typically get hired as a result of the job fairs, she says it is an expectation that students can get hired or come away with a network of connections.
“Some people get employed right there on the spot, but also sometimes people get hired when they go into interviews maybe a month later, maybe even six months later,” she says.
Coates is expecting approximately 30 vendors at the fair; she says about a third are Camosun alumni, and almost half of the employers have asked for the option to interview students on the spot for positions.
“I would suggest doing some research on the employers,” says Coates, who will post a list of employers attending on the Trades and Technology Career Fair website. “I would think of some good questions to ask employers so [students] stand out, because when they send in their application and resume, if they’re not getting interviewed that day, they want the HR professionals who will be there at the career fair to remember them.”
Coates recommends students dress business casual for the event.
“Of course,” Coates says, “if they’re a trades student, business casual for a trades student is a trades outfit, so it’s not like they have to become a different person. They need to look hireable.”
In addition to the opportunity to network, Coates says the fair will have information booths, as well as presentations by different employers—where they will be handing out free pizza to students.
“So students don’t have to miss eating to get a career,” jokes Coates.
She encourages students to really listen to the presentations and use the opportunity to introduce themselves and ask intelligent questions to stand out to potential employers. She also stresses that the event is open to everyone, not just students in trades or technology programs.
“Every company or organization is a business,” she says. “So, although we’re not targeting business, I know that many of them are actually looking for business students. Many of them have health components, and it’s really quite amazing.”
Trades and Technology Career Fair
11 am Thursday, January 24
Centre for Trades Education and Innovation atrium, Interurban campus
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