With Students settling into their classes and getting familiar with their schedule, it is a perfect time to determine how much time they have for things outside of the classroom and extracurriculars.

Like most students, they want to find a job to have access to more opportunities, and of course, a source of income. At Eastern, a local Part-Time Job Fair was held and brought together outlets for students who are looking to fill their spare time with a job. 

The job fair was held in the library quad from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and had over 15 booths full of information revolving around career options. The environment intrigued many students that walked through the rows of tables in order to review the options they had.

Anybody was welcomed and there were no requirements to attend. This allowed students to have better access to the countless numbers or resources presented to them. 

The career services organization was able to put this event together for the third year in a row. They even had a booth for students to ask questions and learn more about their career options as a student attending Eastern.

The booth had three people working it which included Bobbi Kingery, the career services director, Diana Taylor who works as a counselor for the organization, along with student worker, Lindsey Quinn, a junior public relations major.

The three of them answered any questions students had for them. When asked why this job fair stands out to others Kingery said, “This is really nice for students because it allows them to have a one-stop-shop to find part-time jobs that are right for them.”

With that statement Taylor had this to add, “It can be very overwhelming for students to introduce themselves in a professional manner, but this fair allows them to come in a casual presence with a far less perplexed scenery. With the atmosphere being casual it was easier to create connections with different people.” 

Part-time jobs can also be hard to fill up, so by allowing multiple workforces and businesses to show-off what they do, it allows the approach to job searching less stressful. The booths included a wide stretch of jobs.

This allowed students to learn about job openings with more variety. Eli Capili, a career counselor for the Illinois Army National Guard explained how he and the students earn something by being there.

“The benefit of being here is that we get to share what we offer students who might be interested in joining the National Guard. It also seems like a no-brainer because we can offer a lot of tuition assistance,” Capili said. With a job that allows tuition assistance it can be very tempting for some students. 

Many students attended the fair and some even worked at a booth.

Madison Veatch, a sophomore majoring in political science at Eastern, was working at a booth that recruited people off-campus to fundraise for non-profits at the business Ruffalio Noel Levitz, which helps students enroll in schools with a goal to help them graduate and succeed.

With this part-time job fair being so laid back and helpful, students left the library quad with more information and resources they had before.

A freshman named Jayla Singleton, majoring in biology said, “It was a great way to test my comfort zone and to understand my options while trying to find a job.”

Jacob Adcock can be reached at 581-2812 or at jadcock@eiu.edu.