Meredith College Hosts Annual Spring Career Fair

Meredith College held its annual spring career fair on Wednesday, February 20, at the McKimmon Center. Meredith’s Office of Career Planning (OCP) has hosted the fair for more than 24 years and partners with eight colleges and universities in Eastern North Carolina to host this annual event.

Katie Nagel, Meredith’s career development coordinator, believes the opportunity to intentionally network is extremely valuable to students. The goal of the OCP is to provide students and alumnae with opportunities to explore careers and professionally network.

“The Spring Career Fair is an opportunity for students who are just beginning the career decision-making process to start exploring options,” said Nagel. “Employers appreciate and look forward to the opportunity of connecting directly with our students.”

The career fair featured 90 businesses and graduate programs, and was accessible to all students with transportation provided from campus to the event. Students from all majors seeking jobs and internships could benefit from attending because of the variety of companies that were in attendance.

Brandon Washington, a recruiter for AtWork, loves the variety of students that career fairs bring. “The diversity of students is what I always come back to the career fair for,” said Washington. “So many different degrees are represented at these events that we find most of our future employees here.”

Diane Wardenfelt, director of human resources at Marbles Kids Museum, enjoys the types of students that attend career fairs. “We find our most talented team members here,” said Wardenfelt. “Everyone here is an ambitious prospect who is eager to get a job and start working; those are the kinds of people we want.”

The career fair hosted a number of colleges within the Raleigh area, and provided vast opportunities for both college students and employers in North Carolina and surrounding states.

A member of the BioAgilytix human resource team Regan Reynolds, ’02, discussed the types of people that her company is looking to hire. “While most of our roles are lab based, we are specifically looking for a cultural fit within the company,” said Reynolds. “If they only have 40 percent skill, but 60 percent fit with our team, then we will hire them.”

Each company at the career fair was looking for different skills and personalities. For Wardenfelt, being child friendly is a must. “I really want any future employee to know their way around the Raleigh area and love working with kids,” said Wardenfelt. “Being able to effectively interact with children and their families is essential at our museum.”

The career fair provides Meredith students and alumnae with the opportunity to explore careers and build a professional network. OCP strategically plans the fair as part of its annual Career Week to ensure that students and alumnae have the opportunity to have their resume reviewed and have their professional etiquette questions answered in preparation for the fair.