MTSU Business Majors Get ‘Eye-Opening’ Experience at 2023 BEST Career Fair
Having attended previous career fairs, graduating MTSU management major Kacey Day of Tullahoma, Tennessee, brought a higher sense of urgency than many of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business underclassmen seeking internships or entry-level jobs at the recent career fair inside the Student Union Ballroom.
Almost 60 employers ranging from logistics to retail giants to insurance providers, financial services firms and myriad others sent representatives to the Blue Raider campus Tuesday, March 21, for the 2023 Business Exchange for Student Talent, or BEST, Career Fair.
“Since I’m graduating in May, I’m looking for new job opportunities, transferring into a career, seeing what’s all available here in the Murfreesboro area,” said Day, who transferred to MTSU last year from a small private university in East Tennessee.
Day said she found immediate connections with numerous former high school classmates upon arriving to campus and has thoroughly enjoyed her time as a Blue Raider. She was thankful the career fair offered her an opportunity to take the next step professionally as she prepares to receive her degree at spring commencement.
“It was nice to see different aspects and different (workplace) cultures within job opportunities out there … and what they’re looking for,” said Day, who wants to secure a position within human resources management. “I’m hoping to find something locally … but I’m open to relocating as well.”
‘Excellent opportunity … to connect’
Dressed in business and business casual wear and most with resumes in hand, scores of MTSU students checked in at the fair’s registration table throughout the four-hour event before creating name tags, grabbing the floor chart of the employers inside the ballroom and exploring what prospective employers had to offer.
Sponsored by the Department of Management and Department of Marketing, the fair “is an excellent opportunity for employers and students to connect,” said MTSU management professor Leigh Anne Clark, who along with other Jones College faculty in attendance approached students with uncertain looks on their faces as they entered the ballroom to give them guidance and ascertain their career interests before directing them to the proper areas.
Clark pointed out that the first part of the BEST fair consists of “speed-dating rounds” where students meet with employer representatives for 15 minutes or so before moving to another employer table. Mutually beneficial interactions can continue during the second half of the event, which is structured like a traditional job fair. Student attendees also received a free professional headshot for participating.
“I think this is one of most important things that we do as faculty, is to help our students connect with employers,” said Clark, as chatter encompassed the ballroom. “And the energy in this room is really great.”
As the speed networking wrapped up, Lauren Andrus, a human resources division specialist for the Kroger Co.’s Nashville division, said the fair up that point had “been very productive. Most of the students have been very prepared and very engaged.”
Andrus said she and her colleague, Erica Clower, were recruiting for the company’s summer internship program that centered on retail management. Clower noted that they’d identified promising candidates for two internships as well as a store leader and a department leader position.
“So we’re trying to find our next leaders,” Andrus continued. “It’s a paid internship so it’s a great experience for both sides — us potentially finding our next leaders and them getting the experience of running a store.”
