Mississippi College Hosts 2013 Career Day

Networking with employers, enhancing interviewing skills and dressing for success will be among the key components for hundreds of Mississippi College students attending MC’s 2013 Career Day.

The university’s annual eventon the Clinton campus is scheduled February 19. It’s an opportunity for scores of recruiters from hospitals, insurance companies, accounting firms, public schools, graduate schools, government agencies and other businesses to size up MC students.

“Career Day is another wonderful opportunity that students get to participate in,” says MC junior Ashley Dillard, a 20-year-old communication major from Memphis. “This event allows us to network and meet all varieties of employers,” she said.

At least 67 employers are already signed up for the event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. that Tuesday in Anderson Hall.

To get prepared, students are invited to a February 12 networking workshop at 4 p.m. in the B.C. Rogers Student Center Board Room. Students on Tuesday will receive help to polish their resumes, find out about the proper attire to wear to interviews, and ask for tips before meeting with potential employers.

Career Day is one of the biggest events sponsored by the Office of Career Services. But Karen Lindsey-Lloyd, the associate vice president of student success, and her staff are enormously helpful year-round, says MC alumnus Garett May, director of risk management at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

“Career Services provides the perfect atmosphere to prepare for the job searching process,” May said. Lindsey-Lloyd and her staff, he said, “are extremely knowledgeable and truly equipped me with the tools necessary to ace any interview.”

For the Class of 2013, America’s economy is showing signs of a recovery, but the progress has been slow. The USA’s 7.9 percent jobless rate in January was up slightly from the 7.8 percent rate in December. The economy for the first month of the year added 157,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department reports. Employment rose in such areas as healthcare, construction and the retail trade.

The number of Americans out of work for six months or more fell to 4.7 million in January, down from 5.5 million a year ago, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With the USA showing some signs of a recovery, Dillard says the Career Day and the networking workshop are both vital for Mississippi College students eyeing the job market. “The networking workshop is an awesome event,” she said.

MC Career Day, Ashley said, opens the door for students to give their “elevator speech” and quickly tell an employer why they should be hired.

School district officials from around the Magnolia State say the Career Day in mid-February is well-timed. It puts them in touch with prospective teachers before making hiring decisions for the 2013-2014 school year in May. Recruiters will be coming from metro districts such as Jackson, Clinton, Pearl and Rankin County, but from other regions of the state as well.

Jennifer McGill, assistant director of Career Services, says there will be people visiting from in-state institutions, like the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, as well as others across state lines. Representatives from such schools as Alabama A&M, East Texas Baptist University and the Liberty University School of Law in Virginia will be on hand.

“Graduate school provides great options for students,” McGill said.

The 2013 Career Day is open to all MC undergraduates and graduate students plus alumni over the past four years.

For additional information, contact Jennifer McGill at 601.925.7780 or McGill@mc.edu or visit the MC Office of Career Services on the third floor of Nelson Hall. Details are also available on the university website at www.mc.edu/career.