The Rocket

Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Focus

With spring just around the corner, many SRU students who are planning to graduate in May are already growing anxious about landing that ideal job once they graduate.

Many students look forward to the job with the office that overlooks the city and a personal secretary right outside the door.

However, as many students find themselves overwhelmed with news reports about jobs being outsourced overseas and finding only job openings on various Web sites that require years of work experience, these SRU students will soon have an opportunity to see what is out there, and perhaps have something to say to those nagging relatives who will ask on Easter what they want to do with their lives after they graduate.

On Thursday, March 22, the Western Pennsylvania Career Services Association College Job Fair will take place at the ExpoMart in Monroeville, Pa., and is open to all college graduates or soon-to-be college graduates.

With already 173 employers in every field imaginable represented at the job fair, students will be able to meet professionals working in fields ranging from accounting, healthcare, hospitality, sales, liberal arts, government, criminal justice and everything in between.

The WestPACS College job fair will not only connect students to employers who are hiring, but will also connect college students with internships and provides assistance and advice to college students who are trying to get their feet in the door with their first real jobs.

Tony Linnan, the associate director of the Career Services department at SRU, said the WestPACS College job fair has something for anyone seeking a career after college.

"The WestPACS College Job Fair is about offering internships, jobs and helping students transition from school to the workforce," Linnan said. "It's also about college students to see what is out there."

The fair, which started in 1988, is organized by the WestPACS organization and is hosted by the local area universities, colleges, educational institutions and community colleges.

The fair is also offered twice a year and has a variety of corporate sponsors such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 84 Lumber and Verizon Wireless.

But besides being about what employers are looking for, Linnan said that the fair also allows students to see who else is vying for jobs.

"It's an opportunity to get off campus and see your competition," Linnan said.

Linnan also said that the WestPACS job fair is a good way for college students seeking careers to meet human resource representatives from various companies and allows them to not only see what ideal candidates these companies are seeking, but it also allows them to pitch themselves to these companies.

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