Are you currently searching for a job or looking for some information about employers in the Detroit area? If so, an excellent place to start will be HFCC’s first ever Career Expo. Sponsored in part by Siena Heights University, The Eisenhower Center, and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the Career Expo will allow students to meet personally with employers and discuss career options. The Expo will be held on Thursday, November 15 in the ASCC building from 1 to 6 pm.
The Career Expo isn’t just a great place to find a job. The Job Placement Office has taken some additional steps to make this event welcoming and fun for students, making it more than the typical job fair. Prizes including a free night’s stay at the Dearborn Inn will be raffled off throughout the day that are sponsored by employers at the event. Career Expo Ambassadors will hand out prizes to the first students who make it to the event and will also be on campus leading up to the day of the Expo to inform students of the event. Despite these fun perks, Chad Austin, director of the Job Placement Office, wants students to understand that this is not just a social event, but also an important step toward their future. Students who are not dressed appropriately will not be allowed to meet with employers.
“If [students] are looking for a job, they need to be dressed as professionally as possible, they need to have polished resumes ready to go, and they need to be there not only to meet with their friends and collect prizes and participate in games, but to walk up to employers, shake their hands, look them in the eye and make a connection,” said Austin.
Because HFCC has many educational programs to offer, the Career Expo suits the needs of the diverse backgrounds of students.
“With over 100 different types of degree programs at HFCC, there’s a lot of different ground to cover,” Austin said of the various employers already signed up to take part in the event.
Some of the these employers are Quicken Loans, Jacobs Technology, Fairlane Town Center Security, DFCU Financial, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Olympia Entertainment, Qdoba Mexican Grill, the FBI, Old Navy, the FedEx Trade Networks, Birclair Electric and Electronics, Aflac, and the Oakwood Healthcare System.
As well as helping students find jobs, the Job Placement Office is welcoming several Michigan transfer colleges to the event to discuss transferring options. Siena Heights University, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Madonna University, Walden University, Eastern Michigan University-Livonia, and the University of Detroit Mercy are only a few of the colleges who will be attending.
The Career Expo is open to all members of the community, although the first hour is reserved for active members of the armed services, military veterans, and their families. Students who take one of several career workshops through the Job Placement Office will get in early. The first of these workshops will help students develop a professional resume. This workshop, which will be held on Thursday, September 13 from noon to 5 pm in the ASCC Building, was designed so students can drop in whenever they have time during the day. Members of the Job Placement Office staff will help students put together a resume that is what employers want to see, or students can bring their current resume in and get some tips on how to make it more effective.
For more information on the Career Expo or the Resume Workshop, or if you would like to become an expo ambassador, visit the Job Placement Office in the Technology Building (T-112), call (313) 845-9618, or e-mail careers@hfcc.edu. Any employers who are interested in sponsoring or taking part in the event should contact Chad Austin at ctaustin@hfcc.edu.