Job, Internship Solutions Are 'Just in Time'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 27, 2017) ― Looking for a job or maybe an internship? But it’s late in the semester, summer looms, and you’re afraid all the great opportunities have been claimed.

Just when you begin to feel defeated, the University of Kentucky James W. Stuckert Career Center comes to the rescue.

Appropriately called the “Just in Time Job and Internship Fair,” the Career Center offers this final event in the Spring Hire Blue Series of career fairs. It is slated 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Hilary J. Boone Center on Rose Street. 

“This is the perfect opportunity for students to meet with organizations who are interested in connecting with students and alumni before the end of the school year to fill full-time, part-time, internship and summer positions,” said Melanie Barber, director of Employer Relations and Community Partnerships at UK’s James W. Stuckert Career Center. 

The fair is open to students and alumni of all majors to network with employers, government agencies and nonprofit organizations that are seeking applicants for summer, internship, and part-time or full-time employment positions. 

Students also have the opportunity to meet with a career counselor before entering the fair. The counselors can help a nervous student enter the fair with more confidence.

Barber has a tip for students who have never attended a large job fair before. It takes a bit of homework and planning. After checking the list of employers that plan to attend, rank the companies you want to impress the most. At the event, talk first to representatives of your low-priority companies. That gives you time to warm up, practice and relax a bit. When you are feeling more confident, approach the employers you most want to impress.  

Students should come dressed professionally with multiple copies of their resumes to present to potential employers. Try to have your clothes chosen and cleaned, and your resume professionally reviewed and copied well before the event. Frazzled nerves submit to confidence and preparation.

“It is always best to appear as professional as possible as this is the first impression you are making on an employer,” Barber said. “Wearing a suit or business casual attire (nice shirt and tie, or blouse and pants or skirt) is appropriate.”

At last count 33 employers have committed to send representatives — from Anderson Communities to the YMCA of Central Kentucky. For the complete list employers that have committed to attend, visit https://uky-csm.symplicity.com/events/8b4423c84c16be6c5dddf821fffa7df4/employers.