If a significant aspect of a student’s career search is “who you know,” then Fisher is providing a number of innovative ways to connect tomorrow’s business professionals with potential employers.

The fourth annual Diversity Conference Prep Workshop recently offered students the opportunity to meet with representatives from leading companies to review their résumés, refine their elevator pitches and network with recruiters from Mount Carmel, Eaton, Huntington and Nationwide.

The purpose of the event, said David Harrison, was to prepare students for a number of fall 2019 career fairs, including the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and Prospanica, an organization aimed at empowering Hispanic professionals. More than 400 companies and 5,000 job seekers will attend those two fairs.

“Facilitating the venue for early networking, résumé review and access provides multiple win-win opportunities, “said Harrison, senior director of Fisher’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Student Services and Corporate and Community Outreach (ODISSCCO).  “Our thinking is ‘Why should our Ohio-based companies wait until they get to these national conferences and career expos to meet the outstanding talent that we have on Ohio State’s campus.’”

Along with ODISSCCO and Fisher’s Office of Career Management (OCM), the pre-conference prep workshop event was organized by the Columbus chapters of the National Black MBA Association and Prospanica.

“Our role is to help students get prepared, feel less anxiety and to have an opportunity to feel more confident when they get to the bigger career fairs,” said Jeff Rice, executive director of the OCM.

Graduate student Amber Cruz, who is studying human resources, attended the event to discover potential career options and to perfect her résumé.

“It’s exciting because I don’t feel the pressure that I would feel in a career fair,” she said. “It’s good to be in this space where I can be free and speak to all of the representatives.”

Ignacio Dominguez, a graduate student studying finance, said the workshop was a great opportunity to get much-needed networking experience.

“I have gotten a lot of good feedback on my résumé as an international student,” he said. “I’ve also learned how I can apply to companies and specifically how to phrase all my skill sets and my degree in order to get a good response.”

A separate ODISSCCO event strengthened connections between companies and students at Fisher, albeit in a different way. The 2019 Meet the Diverse Students Organizations’ Officers event was designed to raise awareness of ways companies can sponsor student-led diversity initiatives on campus.

“It’s great because the companies and student organizations’ leaders are able to have quality one-on-one time,” said Twhila Holley, ODISSCO’s coordinator of student services. “It’s a reversal of the career fair where companies are seeking out the students for their recruitment needs; in this setting the  student leaders get the opportunity to speak with our corporate sponsors regarding their needs for the upcoming year.”  

Dimitri Baldauf, treasurer for Fisher’s LGBTQ organization, Out in Business, said he hoped the event would help increase the group’s impact.

“We are trying to get our individuals connected to companies that support the LGBTQ community,” he said. “We’d like to explore getting sponsorships for some of our events so we can have a bigger presence on campus.”

Christian Tanicala, a member of the college’s Asian Business Student Association, said internships were his focus.

“We want companies to showcase their internship processes and the different ways our members can interface with them to gain access to these internships,” he said.