Career Expo, Events Planned for WSU, UI Students

PULLMAN, Wash. — More than 125 employers and graduate schools will be recruiting students and graduates from Washington State University and the University of Idaho for a variety of work experiences at the March 1 “Career Expo of the Palouse.”

The Career Expo is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the WSU Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The event is free, no registration is required and students are urged to attend in business attire and to bring polished resumes.

Employers will look for candidates from every academic discipline for internships and career opportunities and for students who wish to further their academic interests. Additional expo events such as mock interviews, a Career Services open house, a dress to impress Web site and an etiquette dinner are also planned.

Mock interviews will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 28 in the WSU Lighty Student Services Building, Room 160. The practice interviews with expo recruiters will last 30 minutes, with 20 minutes for an interview and 10 minutes for feedback on resume, nonverbal communication, and delivery and content of answers. Students may sign up for mock interviews at www.careers.wsu.edu. Schedules are open for sign-ups Feb. 5-25. Space is limited.  

The WSU Career Services open house is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 28, in Lighty, Room 180. Students will have access to resume critiques, Career Services resources, tips to interviewing and answers to questions.

Students can learn about appropriate business attire at the “Dress to Impress” Web site (http://amdt.wsu.edu/research/dti/index.htm), sponsored by ARAMARK in cooperation with WSU Career Services. The site can help students learn to use their appearance as a professional tool in an interview and the workplace. Here students can learn what is communicated through a handshake, eye contact, body language, posture, listening skills, clothing and grooming. Accessorizing tips to help with first impressions is also available.

A number of events are also set for the UI campus.

A Career Expo information table will be available Feb. 22 at the UI Commons Food Court from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Handouts on how to prepare for the Career Expo and on the van shuttle schedule (leaves every half hour from the Commons beginning at 8:30 a.m.) will be available.

The UI will host resume clinics by appointment from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 23, 24, 25 and 28 in the Commons, Room 334. To reserve a spot, phone (208) 885-6121.

Mock Interview Day at UI is set for Feb. 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students can sign up online through MonsterTRAK to participate in the half-hour practice interviews with Career Expo employers. For more information, visit the UI Career and Professional Planning Web site at
www.uidaho.edu/cooped.

The UI will host “Dine with Style,” a Feb. 28 etiquette dinner from 6-8 p.m. in the Commons Clearwater/Whitewater Room. It is a four-course dinner prepared by students from Katie Nelson’s quantity foods class. UI alumna Debra Lybyer will instruct students on professional dining etiquette. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the UI Career and Professional Planning Office, Room 334, of the Commons. A free predinner event, “Suit Yourself,” is a business dress show in the Commons Food Court from 5-5:45 p.m. UI faculty member Sandra Evenson and her clothing and textile design students will model professional wear donated by local businesses.

For more information on events at WSU, visit the Career Expo of the Palouse Web site at www.careers.wsu.edu or call (509) 225-2546; at the UI, contact Dan Blanco or Suzi Billington at the UI Career and Professional Programs office, (208) 885-6121, or e-mail to dablanco@uidaho.edu, suzib@uidaho.edu.