Missouri S&T’s career opportunities and employer relations (COER) department will host an “extra” virtual Career Fair this month for its students. The department hopes to boost students going into a COVID-19-impacted economy that presents challenges for job seekers.

Over 200 companies are currently signed up to recruit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, on the S&T Career Fair Plus platform, with students attending via the mobile app or web app.

The additional fair comes from a partnership with the other three universities in the University of Missouri System, allowing many new companies to attend that don’t typically recruit students from S&T.

“This one-time event is in direct response to the difficult – but recovering – job market,” says Dr. William Zwikelmaier, director of COER at Missouri S&T. “The fair will feature many companies that have never recruited at S&T before. Leveraging the size of sister campus departments in the system, we were able to increase access during this fair for many majors including education, business, accounting, health sciences, liberal arts and more.”

Dr. Michael Davis, interim chair and associate professor of economics at S&T, believes that COVID-19 has impacted the economy in ways that both employers and students may need to consider.

“The general labor market is recovering with the unemployment rate falling to 6%,” says Davis. “It is not clear where the employment growth is, and the situation is unique, so I don’t know how it will impact new graduates. The improving labor market will be good for workers, but long-term adjustments could mean that some skills will be more valuable than before and some less valuable.”

Students and alumni will prepare for the virtual career fair by downloading the app, setting up an account using their university email account and connecting their resume. The app also enables students to connect their LinkedIn profile. Students are required to wear professional dress during their virtual meetings with recruiters.

For more information, visit career.mst.edu/careerfair.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,600 students and part of the four-campus University of Missouri System. Located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 99 different degree programs in 40 areas of study and is ranked by CollegeFactual as the best public university to study engineering. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.