Professional Development Retreat Skills Fair

The goals of this session are to continue students’ development of soft skills, and to help them realize that their strengths, skills, and experience could be a good fit in a variety of industries that they may not have before considered. As a result, this fair is a unique approach to a traditional networking event or career fair.  There are three main sections of this event; Ask An Employer, Employer Reveal, and Open Networking.

Ask an Employer

During this session, employers will be asked to initially refrain from any identifying information; instead, only displaying the top five skills their organization looks for in candidates according to the NACE 2021 Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce. The organization’s name and all advertising is hidden from view. Without knowing the name of the company, students meet with the employer representative to learn a bit about the organization, the types of positions offered by the organization, the skills most valued by that organization, and the culture and environment in addition to the hiring process.

Employer Reveal

Organization representatives are asked to reveal to the students the name of the organization they work for during this time of the session.

Open Networking

Like a traditional career fair, students will meet with the employers during this open networking portion of the session, and this time, they will know the company name. We encourage all employers to offer advice on applying for positions within the company and to professionally connect with students on LinkedIn if comfortable.

If you would like to be involved, please contact us by email employers@merrimack.edu.