February 19, 2016

 

The university campus will hold its annual Career Fair on March 31, from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Student Union Building, and is open to the community. 

 

In tandem with the Career fair, MSUB Career Services in partnership with Rocky Mountain College and First Interstate Bank, will host a Resume Writing Workshop on March 16. Following the Career Fair, students are invited to attend an Interviewing Workshop on April 7.

 

Employers who want to register for the March 31 MSU Billings Career Fair, which is in partnership with Rocky Mountain College, can register online or by calling Advising and Career Services at 657-2168.

 

Contacts:
Becky Lyons, Advising and Career Services, 657-2168
Carmen Price, University Relations & Communications, 657-2266

 

Story by Blair Koch, University Communications and Marketing Intern

 

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — City College at Montana State University Billings hosted its annual job fair Thursday afternoon, where more than 100 candidates mingled with employers from the Billings area.

 

More than 25 businesses and organizations occupied booths in the Health Sciences building on the City College campus, offering job resource information to students and alumni earning associate degrees or certificates in business, industry, computer technology, transportation, safety and nursing and health occupations.

 

Saul Vacca, 18, of Billings, is homeschooled and has applied for admission at MSU Billings and hopes to be admitted soon. In the meantime, he already holds down a part-time job and said he was in attendance of the job fair to see if there were opportunities available that could help him finance his college education.

 

Wearing smart shoes, khaki pants and a fitted-fleece jacket, Vacca had copies of his resume tucked into a neat folder and was uber prepared to make an impression. 

 

“This is really helpful to me because it got me to realize there is a lot more out there career-wise than I originally thought,” Vacca said.

Becky Lyons, MSUB’s director of Advising and Career Services, said the annual job fair aims to leverage the job market with students who possess marketable skills and bring them together in a comfortable environment. 

 

New this year, the job fair was held in the spring rather than the fall. Lyons said the change aimed to capture the interest of students who will graduate in May and are looking ahead to enter the job market.

 

Aubrey Peterschick, nurse manager at Advance Care Hospital in Billings, appreciates the change. The facility is also actively looking to fill registered nurse, licensed nurse practitioners, radiology technicians and support staff positions.

 

“When students are doing clinicals they don’t really have an opportunity, or it may not be the right setting, to discuss options for career or job placement,” Peterschick said. “This gives us a great chance to do that because we have a lot that we can do for them, like working around a school schedule and discussing career goals.”

 

Red tote bag in hand, filled with various freebies, and munching on a lollipop, David Stubbs, 19, said he was pleased to have attended the job fair. 

The freshman sustainable energy major wasn’t attending to score a job per se but wanted to know what fields and companies were hiring right now. While he didn’t bring his resume inside, a freshly printed copy lay waiting in his vehicle just in case. 

 

“I talked to a few companies and while it was good to see what kinds of people and skills they want, it was a bit disappointing to not see anyone from my industry represented,” Stubbs said.

 

Stubbs understands, however, that the job market is always in flux just like the energy sector he plans on working in, and right now the field is seeing seismic shifts. 

 

“With sustainable energy technology, that’s something electrical companies are going to want to use because we’re talking about solar panels and wind,” Stubbs said.

 

With all of the upheaval in the oil and gas market, it isn’t surprising that this industry sector is playing it cool and slow when it comes to hiring additional staff. 

 

“I hope by next year they’ll be here because I’ll be ready for a job,” Stubbs said. 

 

As for Vacca, he said that even if he isn’t called in for an interview, attending the fair will have been worth his time because he met new, prospective employers. 

 

“This isn’t my first job fair,” Vacca said. 

 

It probably won’t be his last. 

 

In fact, the MSUB university campus will hold a job fair on March 31, from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Student Union Building.

 

In tandem with the Career Fair, MSUB Advising and Career Services in partnership with Rocky Mountain College and First Interstate Bank, will host a Resume Writing Workshop on March 16, at 3 p.m., in the SUB Beartooth Room. Following the Career Fair, students and community members are invited to attend an Interviewing Workshop on April 7.

 

Employers who want to register for the Career Fair, which is in partnership with Rocky Mountain College, can register online or by calling Advising and Career Services at 657-2168.