Students Look to Jump Start Career
DeSoto Times
SOUTHAVEN -- Kristy Moore had been looking for the best way to get her foot in the door.
As a senior business administration major at the DeSoto Center, she'd been searching want ads and checking out Web-based employment sites and she hadn't found anything good.
Enter the DeSoto Center's first ever career fair.
"I've been looking around and its hard to know who's hiring and what companies to go to," Moore said. "This event is really helpful because you have a lot of local businesses right here. I've only been to a couple so far but they said they can use me."
The DeSoto Center hosted its first career day Thursday opening its doors to 30 business and government agencies looking for eager prospects like Moore. The center is home to branch campuses for Northwest Mississippi Community College and the University of Mississippi.
"We're looking for students with the basic education experience and who are interested in internships," said Lisa Solomons, representative with Olive Branch-based Parker Hannifin. "When students approach my table I'm looking for honesty and good communication skills. It's important that they have good communication skills."
Solomons, one of more than 75 vendor representatives, said the career fair provided her company a good opportunity to forge relationships with the school and its students.
"It's really a good opportunity to get to know the institution and the caliber of students it's turning out," she said. "We're also looking at students who aren't quite ready to graduate but are interested in engineering. We can keep their names on file and contact them at a later date. It really gives up an edge."
Many of the vendors were from industries with high competition for new employees. DeSoto County and City of Memphis school system representatives were conducting on-site interviews for prospective teachers, while Memphis-based Methodist Healthcare representatives tried to sway undecided nursing students to enter clinical technician fields where the demand is high.
"The health care field is really competitive," said Margaret Ferrante, Methodist Healthcare representative. "We look for any opportunity to find educated health care students who are or will be in need of a job."
To prepare the students for the career fair, DeSoto Center officials offered resume writing and interviewing technique classes, said Ann L. Goss, student affairs director.
"We've been planning this event for about two months and we wanted it to be a success for both the students and businesses," she said. "It's really important that both groups leave feeling it was beneficial and it's really been a success. There's a great student turnout. We'll definitely want to do this again."
Tracy Adams/Times Staff
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