Last week, Monmouth College hosted a Career Expo where students could interact with local employers and discuss different career opportunities. Employers from many different industries attended the expo, including non-profits, government, manufacturing, higher education, legal and law enforcement, agriculture, accounting, and healthcare.
“As somebody who was very confused on what to do, I think you should reach out to any place that you are interested in,” said Long Term Team Member with Justin Cook State Farm and M.C. Alum Sylvia Greer. “Companies will respect that, and they can kind of guide you through that process. Say you are interested in insurance; you reach out to an agent and say, ‘hey can I come and view your office for a day?’ to see if it was something you would like. Reaching out is one of the biggest things, a lot of people do not tell you to do that.”
Amy Nelson, Promoter/Talent Acquisition at Martin Tractor John Deere Dealerships says that it takes patience when looking for a job. “It takes time to get into a big position, so don’t be afraid to start at a lower lever and work your way up. Always leave yourself room to grow. Learn the business you are interested in and know their core values. Know who they are before jumping in because if their beliefs do not line up with yours then it will probably not be a good fit” says Nelson.
Jackie Altenberger, Manager of Talent Acquisition at OSF Healthcare said the first thing you should do is to continually update your resume and then you should keep, “coming to career fairs, looking at job boards, or career paths that you want to go in. Making tons of connections and relationships, because a lot of times you don’t know what careers are out there. Job titles can be misleading, once you dig a little deeper into what the job is you can see if you meet the requirements that are posted.”
Emilie Cain - News & Opinion Editor