Washburn University has hosted the Career Fair to promote local businesses to students at Washburn who are interested in part-time, full-time and internship positions. The Spring Career Fair will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13 in Lee Arena. In addition, there will be a Resume Roadshow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Memorial Union where students can bring in a copy of their resume to be reviewed by professionals before attending the Spring Career Fair.

Over 100 businesses ranging from Walgreens to Core First Bank will attend the Spring Career Fair in search of students who are interested in getting their professional lives started or who are simply looking for a job to help them pay off college. The career fair is an amazing opportunity to build networking connections so students will have professional contacts in their respective fields that will help them gain positions when they graduate.

The career fair has been hosted at Washburn for 35 years and is meant to present job opportunities to students and introduce them to future employers. Washburn hosts both a Fall and Spring Career Fair. Several new companies have also registered with the Spring Career Fair this year including Universal Forest Products, Centura Health, American Shizuki and more, expanding the reach of the event and the diversity in employers who will be attending.

Students who attend the event should come prepared, which means students should bring a pen, a notebook, a folder with several copies of their resume and a professional demeanor. Students are also encouraged to dress in business attire when attending the Career Fair to make a good first impression with possible employers. Having an idea of which booths you would like to visit at the fair is also a good idea. Students can sign up for guided tours at the event to help them get acclimated to the environment of being surrounded by unfamiliar faces and possible employers.

Kent McAnally, director of career services at Washburn, said that employers come from all over to network with students. 

“About a hundred employers and graduate programs will be showing up for the Spring Career Fair and various positions will be offered to students,” McAnally said. “The employers are from all over and we have seven or eight companies that have registered that we’ve never seen before, none of which are local.”

Drew Miller, an employee of Blue Cross & Blue Shield, said his company attends the Career Fair events at Washburn, University of Kansas and Kansas State University.

“We’re always looking for individuals who may qualify for one of our summer internship programs or one of our entry-level positions. We often set up students for interviews on-site or the day after the Career Fair,” said Miller. “We’re constantly looking for that professional attitude in students and the Career Fair presents a great opportunity for them to show that they’re ready to enter the working world.”

To find out more details about the Spring Career Fair, students can contact Kent McAnally by email at [email protected] for more information or to sign up for a guided tour at the Spring Career Fair. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to begin expanding your future career prospects.