According to recent studies, students who work an average of fifteen to twenty hours a week while going to school tend to be more engaged academically.  That’s a big reason why the Career and Employment Center will hold its first ever Part Time Job Fair on Wednesday, September 24^th from 10AM-2PM in the Student Lounge.

Despite this being the first Part Time fair, Rochelle Wanner, a Senior Advisor in the CEC and the head organizer for the event, said response from employers has been very positive.

“I’m thrilled with the numbers,” she said. “We planned on thirty employers and had to open it up to thirty five and that’s capacity; we can’t fit anymore.”

Wanner also said that she’s excited about the variety of employers, who are hiring for fields ranging from healthcare, sales, retail, and security.

The move to a Part Time fair represents a significant change in the Career and Employment Center’s approach to bringing employers to campus, which had, until now, focused on full-time Career Fairs.  According to Wanner, there’s a good reason for that.

“The challenge is the model has changed significantly,” she said.  “We’re looking to help students who are here now and full-time careers, in general, are increasingly found through targeted, program-specific job fairs.”   

Wanner pointed out another cause for the shift toward a Part Time Job Fair: the change in format has allowed the CEC to keep costs for employers down.  She said, “We sent out our invites on the eleventh of August and we’re almost full by the twentieth of August.  These are all employers who have positions open and are actively hiring.”  She added that a number of employers will be conducting on-site interviews and she suggested dressing business-casual.

Students, according to Wanner, will also benefit from the change in format.  In addition to improved academic performance, Wanner believes part time work is, “Good for retaining students.  Besides having money coming in, they will pick up skills they can take with them when they do find their chosen profession, which may be through a part time job.”

 Wanner believes that bringing part-time employers to campus saves students time, allowing them the convenience of job hunting while on campus.

Volunteers will be in the Truax hallways the week before and the week of the fair handing out fliers listing attending employers and employers will post their available positions on Wisconsin Tech Connect—a free online job resource for students—before the Job Fair.  The Part Time Job Fair will also be open to the public.