With the sound of feet hitting the ground running, the spring job-hunting and internship-mining season has officially begun for college students. Three-quarters of employers say the overall job market is favorable for graduates of the Class of 2024. 

This is great news for 1,000-plus West Chester University (WCU) students who will have the opportunity to attend an on-campus job and internship fair on Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 12-4 PM, that will bring 150 employers to the University’s Student Recreation Center (275 North Campus Drive, West Chester). Employers in attendance range from nonprofits and government agencies to small, mid-size, and large corporations. WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center organizes the University’s Job and Internship Fair.

As the road to successful employment is often paved with a rewarding internship, Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor will join West Chester University President Christopher Fiorentino and Twardowski Career Development Center Director Jennifer Rossi Long at 1:30 PM to recognize the first student in Pennsylvania to graduate from the Department of the Auditor General’s Intern to Hire Career Pathway and be hired full-time by the department. Auditor General DeFoor will honor Francisco Molina, a 2023 West Chester University alumnus and first graduate of the program, and will also announce expanded job opportunities within his department.  

The fair will provide the landscape for productive student-employer engagement. By speaking one-on-one with employers, students are determined to land job and internship interviews for later dates. Exactly what are employers looking for these days?

Long shares that employers are looking for employees with a command of emotional intelligence.

“In today’s technologically advanced, complex job markets, employers want their employees to have skills that Artificial Intelligence cannot replace,” said Long “In addition to solid academic backgrounds, they need employees who bring skills that are inherently human — interpersonal communication, creativity, problem-solving, and empathy.”

There is also a give-and-take that appears to be much more prevalent in today’s job market. In addition to making positive connections with employers, many students are equally as interested in ensuring potential employers’ values match their own and that employees’ best interests are top of mind. 

Much is currently being done by those at WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center to help students become comfortable with the process of interviewing. One of the most popular tools has been the use of the “Big Interview,” where students can do a mock interview on their own by recording an interview and playing it back to hear what they said, how they said it, and watch the non-verbal gestures they used.

Some WCU professors are even incorporating “Big Interview” in their classrooms by choosing sets of questions specific to their subject areas. “This tool is proving to be a great way to integrate career readiness in the classroom,” said Long. “The platform puts the power of the interview in the hands of the student whenever the student needs to access it the most.”

The fair is intentional. It has been designed to provide teachable moments to students at every stage of their job or internship hunt. In fact, the fair will even act as a training ground for job-hunting voyeurs or “first-timers,” students who will one day be pounding the pavement themselves for jobs or internships. While students interact with employers, graduate assistants will escort some job-hunting newbies who will watch intently as participant observers and learn how one approaches an employer, what one says to an employer, how one dresses, and more.

The following are just some of the many innovative features that will help students feel their most confident when connecting with employers:

• earplugs to help with those who have sensitivities to noise
• dedicated quiet spaces for those who need to regroup or take a break from the fair’s energy
• volunteer student floaters who will offer encouraging words to students and check in to see if they have questions or need support (i.e., practice a handshake, practice their pitch, find an employer)

The Class of 2024 has much to be excited about. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, “Salary stability is evident as slightly more than 43 percent of employers plan to increase starting salaries to Class of 2024 bachelor’s degree graduates, and nearly all remaining employers anticipate keeping salaries at last year’s levels.”

Learn more about West Chester University (WCU), the largest member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, and how it offers a diverse range of more than 180 academic opportunities in 40 fields of study across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.