The office of Career Development Services sponsored its annual Part-Time Job Fair this Wednesday, Sept. 22 in the Great Court at Mitten Hall. The event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., featured 28 area businesses seeking employees and interns.
Some of the busier tables included the Philadelphia Zoo and Citizens Bank. Almost all of the businesses’ tables were festooned with free prizes, such as pens, candy, magnets, beef jerky, and even promises of a sign-on bonus, all in an attempt to attract students.
And their tactics seemed to work.
According to Tracy Fleming, the coordinator of the event and career coordinator for Career Development Services, the fair has set up more than 600 students with jobs in the past. This year Fleming had already seen 500 students pass through the doors after only an hour and a half. Nicole Edwards, a Philadelphia Zoo representative, said the table ran out of part-time job forms by noon – only 45 minutes after they had arrived.
By the end of the day, Fleming said more than 1,000 students had come to Mitten Hall in search of a job. That’s nearly double the turnout of last year.
The employers loved it.
“They were thrilled with the amount of students and the quality of students,” Fleming said.
Students at the fair could have found a wide range of opportunities including serving as sales assistants, store managers, telephone interviewers, bartenders and even animal caretakers.
“It’s really a wide variety,” Fleming said on the type of businesses present. “It’s really, really broad.”
And it’s the diversity in the employers that continues to make the event a benefit to students.
Though most businesses were seeking students of all majors, a few, including Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Intercommunity Action, Inc., were seeking students of specific fields, which Fleming said not only provides students with extra cash, but also doubles as an internship.
“Some of it is even good for building your resume,” Fleming added.
Carolyn Zeck of Trump Casino Resorts, which was seeking summer interns in areas such as marketing, finance and special events, agrees.
“Some look at it as a way in getting started with our business,” she said.
Jean Flowers, also of Trump Casino Resorts, added that many students whohad worked with the company in the past came back to be hired after graduation.
Because many students have to complete an internship within their major before graduating, the fair is a good place to begin looking.
Charles Pearson, a junior at Temple University studying social administration, went to the fair with the same idea in mind. He used to work at the IBC on campus, but is looking for something different.
“I would like to find something that pertains to my major,” he said, noting that he decided to look for a job after Temple switched to a bi-weekly pay schedule.
Jennifer Hauck, also a junior, is looking for a job to help pay her rent now that she is living off campus. Though she is a psychology major with a specialization in children, she came to the fair with a single goal in mind – money.
“I’m just trying to find a job,” she said.
Sara Getz can be reached at Sgetz418@temple.edu.
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