It's all about the jobs
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Opinion
With the Spring Semester dwindling down to mere weeks, some seniors at Western Illinois University are beginning to feel the anxiety associated with finding a decent job. Unfortunately, some majors will find the search more difficult than others.
To help ease worried minds, Career Services held a job fair in February that included 82 participating employers. While that number is impressive, a majority of the companies were geared toward business, law enforcement/justice administration and agricultural majors. Out of 82 participants, only nine accepted all majors, including companies like Cargill, Family Video, Walgreens, Six Flags Great America and Sherwin Williams.
While we at the WC appreciate the amount of time and effort Career Services devotes to hosting several job fairs during the school year, we cannot help but wonder why smaller departments on campus are not better represented at the job fairs. It is unfair that business majors interview with Wells Fargo and Dell while less prominent majors get Family Video and Cargill.
With construction of a new Multicultural Center and a Performing Arts Center hopefully being built in the near future, the university hopes to expand and attract more students. If the university wants to continue to expand and offer new opportunities to incoming freshmen, it needs to offer them opportunities when they leave Western later.
In order for enrollment to increase, however, all students must be given opportunities to interview for jobs within their major.
Career Services by no means deserves all the blame. A lack of interest by students in utilizing the many resources it offers may be part of the problem. On its Web site, students can find information on every aspect of finding a job, from what to wear to the interview, creating a professional cover letter and how to make sure a prospective job is "the one." If students cannot attend job fairs, there are still ample resources available to find a job.
However, the bottom line is, none of us are paying thousands of dollars to end up working at McDonald's. In order to find successful careers, students must use the tools given to them by Career Services, who in turn should strive to ensure all students are given the same job opportunities.
To help ease worried minds, Career Services held a job fair in February that included 82 participating employers. While that number is impressive, a majority of the companies were geared toward business, law enforcement/justice administration and agricultural majors. Out of 82 participants, only nine accepted all majors, including companies like Cargill, Family Video, Walgreens, Six Flags Great America and Sherwin Williams.
While we at the WC appreciate the amount of time and effort Career Services devotes to hosting several job fairs during the school year, we cannot help but wonder why smaller departments on campus are not better represented at the job fairs. It is unfair that business majors interview with Wells Fargo and Dell while less prominent majors get Family Video and Cargill.
With construction of a new Multicultural Center and a Performing Arts Center hopefully being built in the near future, the university hopes to expand and attract more students. If the university wants to continue to expand and offer new opportunities to incoming freshmen, it needs to offer them opportunities when they leave Western later.
In order for enrollment to increase, however, all students must be given opportunities to interview for jobs within their major.
Career Services by no means deserves all the blame. A lack of interest by students in utilizing the many resources it offers may be part of the problem. On its Web site, students can find information on every aspect of finding a job, from what to wear to the interview, creating a professional cover letter and how to make sure a prospective job is "the one." If students cannot attend job fairs, there are still ample resources available to find a job.
However, the bottom line is, none of us are paying thousands of dollars to end up working at McDonald's. In order to find successful careers, students must use the tools given to them by Career Services, who in turn should strive to ensure all students are given the same job opportunities.
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