The Career Services will be hosting The Teacher Job Fair today in the Bernard Johnson Coliseum from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with over 70 school districts ready to hire.
Mitch Parker, Career Services Marketing and Events Coordinator, talked about the many different districts attending the fair and the opportunities for Sam Houston education majors.
“We have three school districts coming from out of state, one from Arkansas, one from Arizona, and one from Nevada,” Parker said. “That is how in demand our Bearkats are. We have folks from Nevada coming over here.”
This is the highest number of organizations participating in the fall Teacher Job Fair in more than nine years. Parker thinks the source behind it is the rising economy allowing a boom in teacher hiring.
“These organizations that are here right now, are hiring right now,” Parker said. “It is amazing that we have as many as we do.”
If you are a senior who is graduating in the spring and not the fall, it is still encouraged to go to this event. Parker talked about the benefits of any education major attending the job fair.
“It would be smart to go the job fair in the fall and in the spring, because you can learn so much and you can just be like a fly on the wall and just passively listen,” Parker said.
Students who plan on going to the job fair need to bring their resumes, their Bearkat card and should dress professionally.
“Do not come and expect to get a job in blue jeans and a t-shirt,” Parker said.
Career Services Assistant Director Vinessa Mundorff recommends students go to the Career Services website to do research on any school that catches their eye and come to the fair prepared with questions for the school districts.
Mundorff recommends coming in with a good mindset as you enter the job fair.
“We all have different values and doing that research can help individuals figure that out,” Mundorff said. “It is their own, it is not a professor or a parent. Know what is important to you.”
Though this fair is focused on teachers, there is opportunity for non-education majors.
“These school districts are not only hiring people in the classrooms, but they need people to do their IT department and Human Resources,” Mundorff said. “They might require a general business degree or a Human Resources degree. Sometimes thinking outside the box can be beneficial in attending a teacher job fair.”