Career Fair provides benefits to students and employers

The eighth annual Marine Institute Career Fair took place at MI on Feb. 10 and 11

Monday, March 1, 2010

The event included company and alumni presentations that saw industry representatives and MI graduates display their successes while highlighting employment opportunities in the oceans and marine industries.

Richard Coates and Holly Stanley are two examples of how important the Marine Institute Career Fair is to students of the Fisheries and Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Coates and Stanley are two current MI students who used the career fair as a way to get their foot in the door with potential employers. Armed with resumés and an eagerness to make solid first impressions, they were looking to jump start their budding careers by meeting with as many potential employers as possible.

“The career fair is more productive than searching companies on the Internet and then sending out applications through the mail or e-mail,” said Coates, a Marine Diesel Mechanic student at MI. “This is a great opportunity to get some one-on-one time with the companies. The resumé is just a piece of paper, but at the Career Fair, they get to put a face to your name.”

The eighth annual Marine Institute Career Fair took place at MI on Feb. 10 and 11. The event included company and alumni presentations that saw industry representatives and MI graduates display their successes while highlighting employment opportunities in the oceans and marine industries. The Career Fair Exhibition offered current Marine Institute students, MI alumni and companies from across Canada the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas, laying the groundwork for potential partnerships down the road.

Coates thinks the contacts he made during the Career Fair Exhibition will pay off both short-term and long-term. “I talked with a few companies I am interested in and it all went pretty well. I’ve received some positive feedback already,” said Coates. “I’m looking for work-term opportunities right now and hopefully that could turn into full-time employment.”

Stanley is in year two of the Marine Institute’s Nautical Science Program and used the career fair to try to secure her second work term. She approached companies she thought would be interested in her, as well as organizations about which she wanted to learn more. By the time the career fair ended, Stanley was confident she had made progress toward securing a work-term position. “Taking part in the career fair offers an advantage because I can actually talk to the companies and ask them questions in-person,” Stanley explained.

According to Darlene Foote, MI placement officer and co-chair of the Marine Institute Career Fair, Stanley and Coates are two examples of what makes the career fair an annual success. “This is all about the students. They are showing potential employers what they can offer and they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to promote themselves. The feedback we receive from the employers is always about how professional and how prepared our students are,” said Foote. “Every Marine Institute program had representation at the Career Fair. We had numerous marine employers, naval architecture companies and organizations related to the fishing industry. There was a good mix of local, provincial, national and international companies.”

The benefits to the companies that attended the career fair are obvious, says Foote. She points out the companies looking to recruit new talent were presented with some of the brightest young minds in the industry, helping them meet several promising candidates in just one day. Another advantage several of the businesses enjoyed was exposure to the general public and possible industry partners. “We took resumés from current students that we will consider for work terms and also received resumés from graduates that could be considered for future employment,” said Lisa Moffatt, offshore and marine human resources manager, OCEANEX Inc. “But also of benefit was the chance to get our company name out there. I did a presentation on Wednesday (Feb. 10) that was well attended and today (Feb. 11) we have information packages available.”

As much as the students wanted to impress companies on hand, businesses were also trying hard to make a good impression with potential future employees. “We want to let students know what we do and show them there is an opportunity with us,” said Heather Brown, project engineer, BMT Fleet Technology.

As the Marine Institute Career Fair came to a close, Foote reflected on all the activities that took place throughout the two-day event. She says MI achieved its goal of giving students and alumni a chance to begin and enhance their careers. “It was a successful interview and competition process,” said Foote. “The Marine Institute Career Fair offers a number of opportunities to students, alumni and the companies that take part. It was great to see all three groups take advantage of the opportunities that were available.”