Thursday, September 20, 2007
Business students graduating this fall and next spring have new opportunities when searching for careers with the help of 120 companies featured at the School of Business Career Fair. Kim Rosen, Lawrence senior, is one of approximately 1,200 students who will attend the career fair today.
“I went to the fair last year, which helped direct me to what jobs were out there,” Rosen said. “Now, since I’m graduating in December, I’m going to the fair with a good idea of who I want pursue for a job.”
Jennifer Jordan, director of business career services, said companies looked at more than just a good-looking resume, dress and a degree when considering employment. She said companies that attended the fair looked at factors such as compelling experience and internships. Other opportunities, such as the School of Business’ new major, supply chain management (which will see its first graduates in spring 2009), will give students more options when looking for the right employer.
“We take input from business students every year to determine a target list of employers,” Jordan said. “We want to represent a good cross-section of employers for almost all of our business graduates.”
Ruth Marstall, recruiter for Westar Energy, said that some of the first aspects she looked for were the student’s major, internships and programs they participated in.
One program in particular that Marstall said was a good indicator for future employment was the Jayhawks on Wall Street program, a group of selected business students that visit Wall Street in New York during the course of the program. The students have a high interest in investment banking and the opportunity to meet contacts on Wall Street.
“That program incorporates exactly what we are looking for in employees here at the company,” Marstall said.
Marstall said Westar Energy was in growth mode, which was caused by more and more baby boomers retiring and causing more positions in almost all departments of the company to become available.
Marshall said the company was planning the construction of a new power plant in Emporia, which presented a wider range of jobs.
“At the moment, with the new plant, engineering majors are going to be in high demand for Westar this year,” Marstall said.
Mimi Yang, field human resources manager for the Panda Restaurant Group, said that attending university career fairs was vital to seeking out qualified employees for the company. Yang’s company plans to open 150 to 170 new restaurants in the next year, including two more in the Kansas City, Mo., area.
Yang said more employees were needed to fill the jobs being created as the company grew. Jobs in real estate, legal services and the position of restaurant general manager were becoming vital for her company. She said it was difficult to find individuals qualified for the general manager position even if he or she had a degree.
“As important as a degree is, it is more important to possess skills and characteristics such as being highly proactive, responsible, able to multi-task and stress management,” Yang said. “I mean, we are talking about a million-dollar business.”
Yang said some fields in business were not as needed but very popular to encounter for the Panda Restaurant Group.
“We get a lot of interest from marketing-related students,” Yang said. “We feel, though, that the company can market itself if the product is good enough to have customers talking.”
Jordan said graduating business students were still not giving enough attention to some career paths, even though the companies offered employment opportunities on par, if not better, than the other companies at the career fair. Most of these companies were government and nonprofit related.
Jordan said that these companies were very selective and their benefits and compensation packages sometimes rivaled most other companies.
“There seems to be preconceived notions about these kinds of jobs,” Jordan said. “They may not be as attractive as some other employers, but many students are missing out on one solid career path.”
The School of Business Career Fair is from noon to 5 p.m. today in the Kansas Union.
— Edited by Meghan Murphy
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