Record number of students, employers connect at Career Fair

More than 450 students attended Coastal Carolina University’s Spring Career Fair on Feb. 10 in hopes of landing their dream job or internship. Students and alumni across all disciplines had the opportunity to meet with recruiters from 105 different companies from around the state and southeast region.

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Employers at the fair recruited for a variety of positions, ranging from internships to seasonal jobs to full-time salaried positions in the fields of accounting, customer service, education, finance, hospitality, human resources, information technology, law enforcement, management, marine science, recreation, retail and sales.

The annual Spring Career Fair, which is planned and hosted by the Career Services Center, is the largest career recruitment event of the year. Career Services Director Tom Woodle says this year’s event had the largest participation from employers and students.

Some of the companies at the Career Fair included Aflack, Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, Boeing, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Horry Telephone Cooperative, Lewis Truck Lines, Myrtle Beach Police Department, Red Ventures, Site Tech Systems, Teach for America, The Brandon Agency, United Parcel Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Verizon, Weichert Realtors, Wells Fargo, WMBF News and Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

The center’s mission to connect students and employers began before the event with customer-centric processes that support the University’s Feel the Teal initiative.

“Our goal was to make our guests feel welcomed and well cared for the moment they arrived on campus,” said employer recruitment coordinator Sara Wise. A volunteer curbside crew helped unload and carry employers’ career fair supplies before they parked their vehicles in a designated lot and rode shuttle vans to the event. Employers were also served lunch in the Alford Ballroom where their warm welcome continued as they were hosted by staff members from the Alumni Association and Office of Philanthropy prior to the start of the Career Fair.

Students began lining up 30 minutes in advance of the Career Fair, which began at noon. Eager to meet with recruiters, students were dressed in business professional attire and came armed with multiple copies of their resumes. Many students made appointments to have their resumes reviewed by the Career Services staff in the weeks and days leading up to the Career Fair.

Employers remarked that the event was well organized and that students seemed well prepared for the event.

The [Career Fair] was the best I’ve been to at CCU or otherwise,” said Catherine Franklin, a recruiter from WBMF News. “I was so impressed with how prepared the students were – everyone had a resume and most were dressed as though ready for a job interview. I got a ton of potential interns and web producer candidates.”

The Career Services Center offers a host of services to current students and alumni, including major advising, career assessment testing, resume reviews, mock interviews, internship guidance and job search strategies. Services are offered by appointment Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is located in the Lib Jackson Student Union A-203. For more information, call 843-349-2341.