Fall career fair at Northern connect students, employers

Employers from across the United States will be attending Montana State University- Northern’s Career Fair Monday from 9 a.m. to noon in the Armory Gymnsium.

Career Center and Industry Relations Director Mary Heller said she had to move the career fair from the Student Union Building to the gym because the number of employers has been increasing with 36 coming this year.

“We’re getting more and more employers coming every year,” Heller added.

Employers such as Holland America-Princess Cruise lines have registered to attend the career fair and are sending representatives from Alaska.

Fairbanks-Morse, a Marine engine and power generation company is sending representatives from Austin, Texas.

“That’s kind of neat. It’s a feather in our cap that they come so far,” she added.

The career fair is open to both current Northern students and alumni. The average attendance for the event is 250 to 300 students, Heller said.

“A large majority of the students who interview, actively participate and go through the interview process with the employers,” Heller said. “A lot of them get hired for either an internship … or they’ll go into a full-time position.”

The Career Center has been helping students prepare for the career fair. Heller said they edit resumés and cover letters and help students do mock interviews. They also have mannequins that were bought from Herberger’s when that store closed and dress them up to show students how to dress for interviews.

Seven degrees at Northern require internships, she added, and the Career Center helps them set up those internships as well.

“We stay pretty busy helping the students get ready for their careers,” Heller said.

Heller added the most common inquiries the Career Center receives regard resumés and getting set up with internships, or co-ops. She said the center keeps up with what employers want to see and what they are looking for in resumés.

Some companies such as Modern Machinery and General Electric come every year to the career fair, Heller said, but in the summer she goes around to different businesses to see what their current needs are.

For example, Northern started a criminal justice program back in 2012. When Heller first started at her position, she spent the summer of 2013 and 2014 traveling the state of Montana speaking to different agencies where criminal justice students are needed to let them know about the event.

Heller said students will sometimes come to her or her staff and recommend companies that might be interested in attending the event.

Heller added that more employers attend the spring career fair versus the fall event, but this is only because more students graduate at the end of the spring semester than the fall semester.

The spring career fair has more medical, criminal justice and business employers, while this career fair has more employers from the automotive and diesel fields she said.

“Some employers come to every career fair,” she added. “They just want to be actively involved.”

Students who attend Northern online have the same access to the Career Center’s services that on-campus students have with the exception of practice interviews, Heller said.

“I always tell students, the thing about email is it’s 24/7, 365. You can email us at anytime and we’ll get back to you,” she added.

Heller said her biggest piece of advice she could give to students is knowing the company. Students should go to the company’s website and review it and find out what the company is currently working on.

When students can pull that information off websites and talk to faculty about a certain company, “not only does it show their passion and their interest, but it shows they’re prepared,” Heller said.

Heller has had employers tell her that the people they hire are the ones who clearly show an interest and knowledge of the company.

Students who feel like they aren’t ready for this career fair should keep Thursday, Feb. 14, marked on their calendars, because that’s the spring career fair day, she added.

“A large majority of the students who interview, actively participate and go through the interview process with the employers,” Heller said. “A lot of them get hired for either an internship … or they’ll go into a full-time position.”

The Career Center has been helping students prepare for the career fair. Heller said they edit resumés and cover letters and help students do mock interviews. They also have mannequins that were bought from Herberger’s when that store closed and dress them up to show students how to dress for interviews.

Seven degrees at Northern require internships, she added, and the Career Center helps them set up those internships as well.

“We stay pretty busy helping the students get ready for their careers,” Heller said.

Heller added that the most common inquiries the Career Center receives regard resumés and getting set up with internships, or co-ops. She said the center keeps up with what employers want to see and what they are looking for in resumés.

Some companies such as Modern Machinery and General Electric come every year to the career fair, Heller said, but in the summer she goes around to different businesses to see what their current needs are.

For example, Northern started a criminal justice program back in 2012. When Heller first started at her position, she spent the summers of 2013 and 2014 traveling the state of Montana speaking to different agencies where criminal justice students are needed to let them know about the event.

Heller said students will sometimes come to her or her staff and recommend companies that might be interested in attending the event.

Heller added that more employers attend the spring career fair versus the fall event, but this is only because more students graduate at the end of the spring semester than the fall semester.

The spring career fair has more medical, criminal justice and business employers, while this career fair has more employers from the automotive and diesel fields she said.

“Some employers come to every career fair,” she added. “They just want to be actively involved.”

Students who attend Northern online have the same access to the Career Center’s services that on-campus students have with the exception of practice interviews, Heller said.

“I always tell students, the thing about email is it’s 24/7, 365. You can email us at anytime and we’ll get back to you,” she added.

Heller said the biggest piece of advice she could give to students is knowing the company. Students should go to the company’s website and review it and find out what the company is currently working on.

When students can pull that information off websites and talk to faculty about a certain company, “not only does it show their passion and their interest, but it shows they’re prepared,” Heller said.

Heller has had employers tell her that the people they hire are the ones who clearly show an interest and knowledge of the company.

Students who feel like they aren’t ready for this career fair should keep Thursday, Feb. 14, marked on their calendars, because that’s the spring career fair day, she added.