Mississippi College Sponsors Part-Time Jobs Fair

Mississippi College’s part-time jobs fair attracted employers like Newk’s, Target, and Bass Pro Shops to the Clinton campus.

The event Wednesday drew hundreds of MC students heading to the cafeteria for lunch, but also seeing if they could land  jobs to help pay for college.

“It’s a good idea to have a jobs fair – everything is in one place and this cuts down on travel time,” said Terry native Arlene Rogers, who’s taking classes to get ready to enroll in the university’s MBA program. “This will help pay for school and offset some expenses.”

A University of Louisiana at Monroe graduate, Rogers was part of a steady stream of students at the event sponsored by the MC Office of Career Services.

“We’re in Clinton and we like to hire Clintonians, so we like supporting the college,” said Marla Baker, a community service representative with Home Instead Senior Care. “We found about 20 good applicants.”

The folks at Bass Pro Shops in Pearl stood out because they brought the mounted head of a deer to their information table on the Clinton campus. “Usually that’s an eye-stopper,” said Angela Diedrick of the store’s human resources office. “We are looking for seasonal help now for November and December.”

Despite the nation’s lingering recession, business is good at the Bass Pro store off I-20 and near the Mississippi Braves’ Trustmark Park. “There are a lot of hunters getting ready for hunting season,” Diedrick said.

Many MC students, like Brett Sessums, 24, of Vicksburg, though, are busy hunting jobs. “This is a good idea to have this jobs fair, the way the economy is,” said the graduate student from Warren County who stopped by to chat with Bass Pro employees.

At Newk’s, where the chicken salad sandwich is one of their most popular items on the menu, there was a good deal of student traffic. “There were 30 to 40 applications turned in,” said Melissa Redd, general manager at the Clinton restaurant. “We have two or three (employees) from MC now.”

The restaurant off U.S. 80 seeks to hire cashiers, cooks, food runners and other positions.

Hayley Taff, assistant director of career services, says the turnout was good for the third annual fall event. Her office is now getting ready to host their annual MC Career Day on February 15, 2011. In addition, they are making plans for another part-time jobs fair in April 2011.

For more information about the Office of Career Services, contact Taff at 601.925.7717 or Taff@mc.edu.