IVCC’s annual job fair will be held on April 12 in the gym from noon to 4 p.m. The fair is open to the community. Job seekers do not need to preregister and there is no attendance fee. The fair is sponsored in a partnership between Career Services and the NewsTribune.

Lisa Witalka, administrative assistant for Career Services, encourages job seekers dress professionally and bring several copies of their resumes to hand out to different employers.
This year there will be 40 employers participating in the fair. According to Witalka, “Companies offering bona fide (salaried, not 100% commission, W-2’s) full-time, part-time and seasonal job opportunities and internships may register for job fair participation.”

Employer registration is open until April 3 and Career Services hope to reach their goal of 50 employers before that time.
The college will offer a complete listing of the current attendants up until the actual day on IVCC’s page on www.collegecentral.com/ivcc.

According to Witalka, “Attending a job fair is an excellent venue for students to actively explore careers by speaking with professionals in the careers or fields that interest them.”

She also stressed that the job fair could provide experience talking to professionals as if in an interview, regardless if an attendee is searching for a job. She said the job fair is “a great way to practice networking and interview skills.”

Witalka believes the job fair can also help students who are looking for an internship,
She says, “Attending a job fair is also a way for students to meet contacts for potential internship opportunities that may not be available when the fair is being held.”

Making connections at the job fair could help with finding an internship for the summer or fall.
This job fair is also valuable to employers because “it is an effective avenue to cultivate a diverse group of contacts for future employment opportunities.”

Witalka said that for more than 25 years, the turnout has continued to be “tremendous.”
She continued, “So many of our local employers are eager for the opportunity to meet our students—especially just before they graduate.”

Witalka encourages job seekers to remain objective: “a hospital still needs a networking administrator; a manufacturing company may need a payroll assistant.”