Eastern students looking for a job at a school district can wear their best suits, grab their resume and attend the Fall Education Job Fair today.

The fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

“It is mostly for education majors, but we are also talking (about positions) for school psychology, speech pathology, nursing, social services and information systems,” said career services director Linda Moore.

Education event specialist Diane Smith said students should bring at least 25 to 30 copies of their resume in a portfolio or folder and should bring a “30-second infomercial” to introduce themselves to the schools.

Students resumes should include all volunteer work, grades and leadership roles they have taken during their time at Eastern.

Moore said some school districts might actually hire the people they interview on site.

“It varies by school, and some schools will make an offer on site because they do not want the person to get away,” she said. “We have had students walk out with contracts in their hands.”

Even though only seniors are hired on the spot, juniors can come and talk districts into hiring them for student teaching when they graduate.

“Some fields, such as special education, never stop recruitment,” Moore said.

Moore said the Fall Education Job Fair started in the late 1990s when the state of California passed a state law, which limited class size, so consequently more teachers were needed when the class size requirement went from about 40 to 20 students per class.

“We had a lot of schools come out and teach for a semester,” Moore said. “We got a whole bunch of districts to come after that.”

Moore said Eastern was the only school in Illinois to put on a fair like this until about two years ago.

As of right now, Eastern is one of two universities in Illinois that offers a fall job fair.

The event gives education majors an opportunity to network.

Education majors coming to the fair should bring a list of questions to ask the school district, such as their priorities, what kind of technology the school uses, what areas the school excels in or what kind of management structure the district has.

Some local representatives that will be attending are Charleston, Champaign and Paris School Districts. Non-local representatives include schools from Tennessee, Kansas and Texas.

If students want to teach abroad, they should speak with the representative from the Network of International Christian Schools, Smith said.

“It is important to bring employers and students together at these events to network and to get that face-to-face contact,” she said. “Students need to realize that simply applying online is not enough.”

Smith said the fair is a great way for students to see opportunities beyond their hometowns.

“A successful job search takes time, and making that initial contact is crucial in a job search,” she said. “Job Fair attendees have the opportunity to meet with dozens of employers, all in one day.”

Jennifer Peterson, career adviser for the college of education and professional studies, said the fair would provide students with the opportunity to look at what positions are open.

“Most students will be looking at more than one school district and see where their options are,” she said.

The dress is business attire, so attendees should not wear jeans, khakis or anything they would wear to a party.

“I would always put myself on par with who I am talking to and I would bet all the officials will be wearing a suit,” Moore said.

Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or haholm@eiu.edu.