Career fair set at Northern

Students looking to start laying the groundwork for a post-college career and employers seeking to add to their pool of prospective hires will get the chance to connect with one another at the Montana State University-Northern Spring 2016 Career Fair.

The fair will take place between 9 a.m. and noon Monday at Northern's Armory Gymnasium.

Mary Heller, director of Northern's Career Center, said with 41 employers taking part this year, the fair will offer students looking to lay the groundwork for a career the chance to network with potential employers.

"They bring exciting prospects for all of our students, and I am thrilled that these young people have a chance to explore their career paths with a variety of choices presented to them," Heller said.

Every year there are two such career fairs, Heller said, one in the autumn and one in the spring.

Though most employers taking part are from Montana, there are some from out of state, such as Wartsila, a global company that develops and services energy sources.

Heller said there are at least two Northern alumni who work with Wartsila.

"It's pretty cool - they come here to recruit," Heller said.

While not all employers at the fair will be looking to hire immediately, they do tend to keep in mind those who introduce themselves for openings when they do start hiring or for internships.

Heller said that this year she is seeing "a slight shift" in the composition of the employers taking part.

In the three years she has been with Northern, Heller said she has worked to expand those career fields represented beyond the automotive and technical.

Nearly half of the businesses this year are potential employers that would appeal to students in the school's other academic programs such as criminal justice, education, nursing and other fields.

"This is a big first," Heller said.

Though the fair itself is only three hours long, many of those businesses taking part will be on campus Monday afternoon and Tuesday, a time when they can interview students now enrolled at Northern and discuss internships and other possible opportunities with alumni looking for a change of career.

Students and alumni interested in attending, can learn more about which companies will be at the fair online and set up times for interviews on the campus. This can be done at http://www.msun.edu/career. Applicants will have to create a profile and present an updated version of their resume on the site.

For more information, people can call the Career Center at 265-4198.