This May the Career Center will remove the uncomfortable barriers of job searching and make it easy for Illinois State alumni and students to connect with hiring employers through the E2 Employment Expo in Chicago.
Held at the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 East Washington Street on May 20, E2 will not be the typical career fair environment.
“At a fair, you dress up, sell yourself to an employer, and cross your fingers to get a job—without much time to do so. But not at E2,” said Career Center Director Stephen Cantine. “With this event, attendees will enjoy mixing and mingling with employers, but in a laid back, business casual environment that allows them to network.”
The event begins with a breakout session that provides helpful tips and advice from savvy professionals on how to market yourself to recruiters. Next, attendees take what they’ve learned and put it into practice right away at a casual, yet lively networking mixer (sponsored by Alumni Relations) designed to allow candidates and employers to connect at whatever level they are most comfortable. Each of these activities will help job seekers to brush off their job search anxiety and get their feet wet getting to know employers.
The event will culminate with a job fair where attendees will meet hiring employers and apply for positions with recruiters.
Participants may choose to attend all of the sessions during the day or just the ones at which they feel the most comfortable, although Cantine advises them to attend all of the activities of the day to experience the maximum benefits and to connect with as many employers and other professionals as possible.
“You just don’t know who you’ll meet,” Cantine said. “In this casual setting two former classmates may connect and share about their professional experiences in their field while a recruiter may join in and share about positions where his company could use their skills.”
Participants also have an opportunity to get a free, studio-type headshot photo taken to promote themselves professionally on social networking sites.
“This is a very different take on the career fair/job interview setting, so we hope students and alumni will take full advantage of this event,” Cantine said. “It’s definitely more than ties and tables!”
Pre-registration is required. For more information about E2 or to register, visit CareerCenter.IllinoisState.edu/E2.
