Bobcat Career Prep to Host Employment Recruiters

Carlos Marquez
Senior Reporter

Texas State Career Services will be holding a professional development event on January 27th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the LBJ Ballroom. Career Services is advising that all majors attend this event to receive resume critiques, feedback on career development topics and perform mock interviews.

Career Services say this fun and casual event will boost students’ chance to land their next job or internship. Texas State Career Advisor Lily Montalvo says that this will be a unique opportunity for students to interact with recruiters.

“This is the only event that we have where recruiters come on campus to do mock interviews,” Montalvo said. “This is the only event that you’ll see recruiters giving you feedback without having the pressure of interviewing for an actual job or position. They’re gonna be doing speed interviews that are just practice for you. It’s going to be the only chance you’re gonna have as a student to interact with those recruiters to get that feedback, so you can standout at the next career fair.”

Montalvo says that though the event is not one to stress about, students should still complete some preparations.

“Bring resumes so you can have them reviewed, bring your questions for sure. What questions do you typically have when you go to an interview or a specific question that you have that you always stumble upon, I’m not too sure how to answer it, this is your chance pretty much to ask the recruiters what’s the best way to respond to those questions that you have.”

It can be difficult to find a job after graduation or we may sometimes end up with a job we didn’t know existed. The highly competitive job field can sometimes be intimidating and former Texas State student Hady Mawajdeh offers his advice for students.

“The job market’s tough,” Mawajdeh said. “I think the best thing to do is to use the time while you’re in college to build as many extra-curiculars and build as big a portfolio as you can, and to do as much as you can because that’s really what you have to show people that you’re not useless and I know that sounds awful but it’s kind of the truth. Take advantage of these career events and to kind of go in them with some goals like you might talk to a professor ahead of time about what the career event’s gonna be about. You might go in there thinking that it’s a joke but those are the people you’re going to be asking for a job not too far away from now.”

U.S. News says that three tips to ace job fairs is to have a gameplan, do your research on the recruiters and be sure of how you’re being evaluated. U.S. News also says that these days success is heavily reliant on interpersonal skills and having superior manners is more than just courtesy, it’s business.

The event will be a casual educational event and business dress is not enforced but students are allowed to dress professionally if they would like to impress recruiters. Career Services will also be raffling away a full suit for each hour of the event as well as other smaller prizes.