The in-person winter career fair was rescheduled from Feb. 2 to Feb. 22 due to the snow emergency last week. The event will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second floor of the Oakland Center. The virtual career fair was still held over handshake last Thursday.

Sarah Swarz, marketing and events coordinator for Career Services, hopes that the new date will be better for students,

“We are hoping that since students have had that extra time to get settled back in person that it might be even a better date for this fair to happen. It will be nice for students to be back in their routine. We still have some amazing employers who are planning on attending the in-person fair. I think it all worked out for the best.”

The career fair is an opportunity for students to network with both local and global companies for potential internships and jobs. Swarz says that the fair is a great opportunity to find local employers,

“The in-person fair coming back is wonderful for those smaller companies who are in the Metro Detroit area for students to come and get to know them. I would definitely recommend that students, in addition to those big brand names, explore as much as they can, because you don’t know what you’re going to find.”

Now is also a good time for students to look for a job or internship,

“The amount of job postings has gone up over the course of the pandemic. You would think that it would have dropped, but the demand from employers is high. It’s been awesome to see all of these positions that employers are adding on and formatting to either remote or hybrid positions. It’s nice that there hasn’t been a shortage of jobs for our students,” Swarz said.

This sentiment reflects MSU’s annual recruiting trend report that states 44% of companies increased their hiring quotas last year and bachelor hiring is up 15%. In addition, employer optimism for college labor is the highest it has ever been in over fifteen years.

A valuable resource Swarz recommends are the school’s career consultants,

“We have career consultants associated with every college on campus and a lot of the time they know intimately about positions being offered on Handshake. They can help introduce students to companies or we can at least give the tips and tricks to leaving a good first impression whether that be in person at a career fair, virtually at a career fair, or just applying for a position. I always recommend students loop us in for whatever they need.”

Students can get in contact with a career consultant by calling the Career Services Office,  emailing them at [email protected], or by visiting their North Foundation Hall office in Room 154. Students can also meet career service workers alongside employers at the upcoming winter Career Fair.