By Kristine Milbrandt

Wartburg students sought to gain an edge in the job search by networking with employers at the Career, Internship, and Graduate School Fair March 6.

The spring event in The W attracted 167 students, according to Jo Dorrance, internship coordinator at the Center for Community Engagement at Wartburg, and Derek Solheim, associate director of Pathways for Career Services.

They have been coordinating the fall and spring career fairs since 2005.

“This is a chance to take a half hour and start to present yourself professionally, because when you do go into that interview with your dream job, you’re much more prepared,” Dorrance said.

Organizations and agencies ranged from John Deere to the Waverly Chamber of Commerce.

“It really runs the full gamut of both corporate types you’d think of like Target coming from Minneapolis all the way to local charities,” Dorrance said. “For instance, Self-Help International (Waverly) is a nonprofit that needs interns.”

A solid core of employers, organizations, and graduate schools attend every career fair, Dorrance said, but she and Solheim are continuously recruiting new ones. Six new companies and organizations were added to the March 6 fair.

One of those companies was Hellman, a Waterloo marketing agency.

“It’s been fun; it’s been interesting doing our first career fair,” said Jessica Stadler ’11, a public relations specialist and Wartburg alumna. “This is my first time being on this side of the career fair instead of being out there and being a student.”

Dorrance and Solheim specifically seek Wartburg alumni to increase networking and familiarity.

 “My supervisor is also a Wartburg alum,” Stadler said. “We know Wartburg students are really ready for the workforce. So we thought it was time we should go to the career fair.”

Nikki Anderson ’11, who works in marketing at John Deere, is another alumna who assisted with recruiting.

“We like to look for somebody who has a lot of initiative and someone who is very positive, outgoing, and able to present their skills to us,” said Anderson.

“I have felt very prepared to come into my first job and really know what I was doing and have the necessary skill set,” she added. “Anything they threw at me, right away, I was able to handle. Just in building that experience, Wartburg prepares you to be that well-rounded individual.”

Well-rounded individuals were what most employers and graduate programs at the fair sought.

“We do a holistic application process, so we look at not only your GPA and test scores but also volunteer experience and shadowing experiences,” said Kyle Sanford, an admissions coordinator from Des Moines University, a post-graduate medical school.

Sanford said that graduate school can be important in the changing economy if a student is ready and able to commit.

“Luckily, Iowa is still fairly sheltered in terms of our economy and finding jobs,” said Sanford.

“I always tell (students) to think outside the box because there may be a company here that they may have never thought about,” said Dorrance. “Because I think we have a nice blend of different kinds of companies. We do a good job of getting our students out there.”

Andrew Bridgewater ‘12, a senior and communication arts major, came to the career fair looking for a video production job. A few companies and advertising agencies interested him, but he ended up discovering more.

“There was one manufacturing company that was telling me about a production company that they outsource their video work to, and it was something that I didn’t even know existed within the Waterloo area. So now I can take a look at what they do,” Bridgewater said.

Computer science major Aaron Schendel ‘14, on the other hand, was searching for a summer internship at the career fair.

“I want to find one hopefully that pays, but I just want to get my feet wet and start learning about the field,” said Schendel.

Schendel was one of the few sophomores at the fair, which mostly attracts juniors and seniors.