Another Successful St. Louis Networking/Interview Days - 2010

Great Event! These are the words used by several companies in describing this year’s St. Louis Neworking/Interview Days on September 23-24, 2010, at the Holiday Inn Southwest Viking Conference Center in St. Louis. This event sponsored by the Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University connected 56 enthusiastic, bright Harrison business students with representatives from 28 companies looking for future employees or students to fill internships.

On Thursday evening, an informal reception was held where students were able to informally meet and network with not only company representatives that were interviewing the next day, but also a few companies that came to “check us out” prior to participating in future events. This reception has proven to be a very rewarding experience for companies who want to pre-screen students prior to the formal interview process on Friday, as well as identify other students to add to their interview schedule. Company representatives quickly find themselves surrounded by students who are eager to find out more about their company and their work environment. This is definitely a time for companies to network with a number of outstanding students and entice them with the excellent career opportunities available at their firm. On Friday, the structured interview process began at 8 a.m. and continued throughout the day until 5 p.m. A luncheon was provided at noon where students, company representatives, and staff were able to continue networking while enjoying a nice meal.

At least 264 first-time interviews were conducted in the fast paced, 30-minute intervals on Friday. With the 5-minute warning bell, it’s almost like speed dating but with more meaningful and rewarding results based on the reports we receive from students who are getting call backs and second interview requests. Every year a number of students obtain full time employment based on this important networking event. And that’s what it is all aboutᾰhelping students to get connected with companies looking for new dedicated and industrious employees.

Individual interviewing booths were available on Friday for each company to conduct their interviews. The Harrison College of Business team was instrumental in keeping the ball rolling by escorting students to their scheduled interviews at each booth. The university’s photographer was there to capture all the excitement, and even videotape some highlights and testimonials.

Internships continued to be in high demand and are a win-win for companies and students. It provides a company an opportunity to gain valuable extra help, plus allows a company to “try out” individuals before extending a job offer. Students gain valuable “real life” work experience in their major, and hopefully a job offer when an opening becomes available.

Listed below are just some of the many comments by company representatives:

Great day – phenomenal job!

Students were very enthusiastic at the reception. This is a great event Southeast puts on and a beneficial event for my company.

Great event! Will definitely come back!

Thank you for all your efforts. We sincerely appreciate the partnership.

As always we enjoy participating in St. Louis Interview Day!

Students comments included:

Thank you so much for this opportunity. I know it takes a lot of hard work to put this event together, but it is very much appreciated. I got interviews with all the companies that I wanted in 1 day. Thanks again for your hard work!!

This was a fantastic experience! I’m so happy the college of business does this!

Overall, I think St. Louis Interview Days was a success. I already have two second interviews set up and I’m so excited about them.

…It’s a great way to network and get your name out to several companies at once…

I think that St. Louis Interview Days are extremely valuable…This was definitely one of my top 5 greatest experiences at SEMO. This is the kind of real-life experience we need. I have already had 2 follow-up calls and have a second interview scheduled for next week…

…This has been a great experience for me and even if no job offers come of it, I still have a lot more confidence with my interviewing and also know a lot more about what to expect. Great job to everyone involved!

…I think it ran like a well-oiled machine. Everyone was efficient, understanding and taking a real interest in our interviews, asking how they went….The luncheon was a great way for people to get to know one another and for the students to interact with representatives from other companies that they may not have had an interview with.

Before I had my interviews, I honestly hoped that this was not a waste of my time….I even had a company ask if I would be interested in applying for a position they had available now. I came away from St. Louis Interview Days with two really good opportunities and a couple of fall backs, just in case I needed some extra time after graduation to get more resumes out there.

I believe St. Louis Interview Days was the most beneficial event I have partaken in during my 4.5 years at Southeast…I was more than satisfied with STL Interview Days and have no idea why more students don’t take advantage of the opportunities it gives.

It was very helpful in networking with different companies and led to possible employment opportunities.

The experience was absolutely great – I wouldn’t change anything about it. The staff was extremely helpful throughout the entire process, both in the time leading up to the interviews and then during the day. I decided to participate in the event just to get some interview experience, but I left with multiple legitimate job offers. This is definitely something I’d recommend to other students.

A big thank you to the companies that participated this year:

Anders Minkler & Diehl

BKD, LLP

Brown Smith Wallace

Cassidy Turley

C. H. Robinson Worldwide

Cintas Corporation

Drury Hotels

Edward Jones

Enterprise Holdings

Fastenal

Gateway EDI, Inc.

Grimco

KPMG, LLP

L J Hart & Company

Maxim Healthcare Services

Mueller Prost, P.C.

Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

Panera LLC

RubinBrown, LLP

Suddenlink Communications

Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.

UPS

Verizon Wireless

Wireless Vision LLC

Plus companies attending the reception (Ameren, St. Louis University Hospital, The International Companies, Tom James Company)

This was the eighth St. Louis Interview Days sponsored by the Harrison College of Business, and it has been instrumental in helping students start their career path after completion of their studies. Mark your recruiting calendar now for  September 29-30, 2011 for next year’s exciting event.