By Ann Eastham, GCDF
Contributor, Career Services

Last year’s Virtual Career Fairs (VCFs) created many successful connections among students, alumni and our network of employers. With the 1,600 chat sessions and 81 participating organizations that occurred in 2016, the Department of Career Services is gearing up for an even more exciting 2017 by fostering those connections between our students and employers.

February 15 – Public Safety and Health Virtual Career Fair

Rescheduled from last October, this event will focus on connecting students interested in working in emergency and disaster management, public health and criminal justice. A number of employers such as the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and FEMA have signed up. This VCF is sure to be an exciting kickoff for the year.

April 13 – Employing Those Who Serve Virtual Career Fair

In 2017, we’re introducing a new type of virtual career fair, Employing Those Who Serve. In the past, we concentrated on providing general career VCFs and industry-specific VCFs. This time, we’re focusing on our active-duty and veteran students, as well as our AMU/APU military spouses. Employers specifically looking to hire our nation’s veterans and spouses will be in attendance at this VCF.

June 8 – Business and Management Virtual Career Fair

For our third event of the year, we’ll be looking to connect our business and management students with exciting opportunities in a wide variety of companies. Stay tuned to our VCF page for updated information and employers.

August 23 – National Security Virtual Career Fair

We will continue to hold our annual National Security VCF in late August. We’ve been fortunate with this event to build relationships with several recruiters and companies in the intelligence community. In past years, recruiters from Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton and the National Security Agency have been in attendance to speak with our students.

October 25 – STE@M Virtual Career Fair

Our STE@M event is new this year. It will focus on our STEM students (science, technology, engineering and math). This VCF will also include students in the arts (that’s the @) that support STEM activities, such as graphic design and computer programming.

Prep Clinics Available before VCFs

The Department of Career Services will hold prep clinics prior to the VCFs to help prepare students to meet prospective employers. These prep clinics will help students to succeed at the VCF by reviewing valuable information about employers who have confirmed that they will be participating in the VCF.

So get a competitive edge! The Department of Career Services helps current students and alumni at all steps of their career journey. We’ll help you identify ideal career paths, perfect your resume and practice your interview skills.

We will help you make the most of your VCF experience. To be connected with your industry coach, contact us at careerservices@apus.edu.