March 18 Career Fair Open to Immediate Families

There's a new twist to the Career Management Center's annual spring career fair, scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.

In recognition of the downturn in the economy, Old Dominion University's CMC is opening the fair for the first time to the immediate family members of students, faculty, staff and alumni.

It's an effort both to "do the right thing" in these uncertain times, and to heed the principles of supply and demand - attracting as many employers as possible to the fair by guaranteeing a critical mass of potential employees, said Tom Wunderlich, assistant dean of career management.

"Opening the fair to the immediate family members is new, so it means, for example, that if students, even freshmen, have parents who are out of work, they can bring them. Or if staff members have students at other institutions, they can bring them, and if alumni have a spouse out of work or a student at another school, they are welcome as well."

Wunderlich expects more than 100 regional employers - from major companies, to nonprofits, to the health-care industry - to fill the arena floor at the Ted Constant Convocation Center for the fair, which will run from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Preregistration is not required; however, an ODU student, faculty member, staff member or alumnus must accompany their immediate family member for registration at the door. It is not necessary for the sponsoring member of the ODU community to stay at the fair, however.

Wunderlich expects up to 1,500 students, faculty, staff, alumni and family members to attend the spring fair. And the advice to immediate family members is the same as for the students who attend: dress for success, and bring resumes and portfolios.

"Because of the economy, the number of employers attending the career fair will be down about 20 to 25 percent, but we still will have over 100 employers recruiting. This is a major event, and it's the biggest career fair in the region. We don't want students, or anyone else, to pre-empt themselves from an employment opportunity based on what they read or hear in the news about certain companies that are going under or laying off employees."

All of the employers at the fair will be recruiting for positions that require a bachelor's degree, at minimum. To find out what companies will be represented at the fair, and the types of positions and majors for which they are recruiting, go to www.odu.edu/cmc and click on the Spring Career Fair picture.