Students and employers interact at a past career fair hosted by Tech’s Center for Career Development
Cookeville – As professors provide students necessary knowledge for their future careers, Tennessee Tech’s Center for Career Development provides students with opportunities that pave the way to those careers.
The annual spring engineering fair, the first and largest of three major-specific events to be held on campus this semester, will bring approximately 175 prospective employers from across the southeast region to the Hooper Eblen Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8.
“It typically brings a return of companies that regularly recruit Tech engineering students, as well as new companies like Ford Motor Company and Martin Marietta,” said Russ Coughenour, director of the Center for Career Development.
“The success of this event reflects the brand that is Tennessee Tech University, certainly in engineering and as a school overall. It reflects the recruiters’ word-of-mouth that there is good, quality students to be found at Tennessee Tech,” he said.
Other participating businesses include local and national companies such as ATC Automation, Averitt Express, Bridgestone Americas, Denso Corporation, Dynetics, HCA health care, Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Aerospace Solutions, Tenneco, Tennessee Department of Transportation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and more.
Photographers will also be set up on the stage of the Hoop’s arena floor to take professional headshots free of charge for Tech students.
“I can’t think of any other event that captures in one visual image the success of a university the way that a job fair does,” Coughenour said.
Career Development uses a digital platform called Handshake to register employers for the event and allow students to log on and see participating businesses within their fields of study. Students can even connect with those businesses ahead of the Feb. 8 event.
“We create opportunities for students to engage in life-changing events. The chance of having a life-changing experience exists at every job fair event we organize. It still takes my breath away when I walk into the main arena and see the energy of a job fair” Coughenour said.
While he and his team finalize the Feb. 8 engineering fair, they are also looking ahead to other events that will connect Tech students to potential employers. They include:
A School of Agriculture spring career fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 29 in Memorial Gym,
A College of Education spring career fair from 10 a.m. to noon March 30 in Memorial Gym,
And the 30th annual Nashville Area Career Fairs Consortium from 1 to 4 p.m. April 10 at Nashville Fairgrounds.
The latter event is slated to include more than 100 employers across all fields of study.
“For us to be doing such successful fairs with the number of people we have on staff is excellent, and they need to be recognized for the hard work they put into making these events happen. Likewise, our other campus partners and each of the colleges deserve to be recognized for their contributions as well,” Coughenour said.
Learn more about the Center for Career Development and Tennessee Tech career fairs HERE.
Photo courtesy of Tech.
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