2025

February 28, 2025

135+ Employers Courted 800+ WCU Students at a Recent Job & Internship Fair    

With the rush of many feet hitting the ground running, the spring job-hunting and internship-mining season has officially begun for college students. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) finds that the outlook for May 2025 graduates is positive, as it projects a 7.3% increase in hiring compared to the Class of 2024. This was great news for 800+ West Chester University (WCU) students who pounded-the-pavement recently at an on-campus job and internship fair that brought 135+ employers to the University’s Student Recreation Center. Employers in attendance ranged from nonprofits to small, mid-size and large corporations. WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center organized the annual Job and Internship Fair.

The fair provided the perfect landscape for productive student-employer engagement. By speaking one-on-one with employers, students were determined to land job and internship interviews for later dates. Exactly what are employers looking for these days?

Jennifer Rossi Long, career expert and executive director of WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center, shared that employers are looking for employees who have command of emotional intelligence. “In today’s technologically-advanced, complex working environments, employers want their employees to have skills that are inherently human — interpersonal communication, creativity, problem solving, and empathy — in addition to a solid academic and co-curricular background,” she says.

Aligning in agreement are findings from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. According to NACE, “When asked what attributes they are looking for on resumes, nearly 90% of employers responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2025 survey indicated they are seeking evidence of a student’s ability to solve problems and nearly 80% are seeking candidates who have strong teamwork skills. Written communication skills, initiative, strong work ethic, and technical skills are important to at least 70% of responding employers.”

Much is currently being done by those at WCU’s Twardowski Career Development Center to help students become comfortable with the process of interviewing. One of the most popular tools has been the use of the “Big Interview,” where students are able to do a mock interview on their own by recording an interview and playing it back to hear what they said, how they said it, as well as watch the non-verbal gestures used.

Some WCU professors are even incorporating “Big Interview” in their classrooms by choosing sets of questions specific to their subject areas. “This tool is proving to be a great way to integrate career-readiness in the classroom,” says Rossi Long. “The platform puts the power of the interview in the hands of the student whenever the student needs to access it the most.”

The fair is intentional. It has been designed to provide teachable moments to students at every stage of their job or internship hunt. In fact, the fair even acts as a training ground for job-hunting voyeurs or “first-timers,” students who will one day be pounding-the-pavement themselves for jobs or internships. While students interact with employers, graduate assistants escort job-hunting newbies who watch intently as participant-observers and learn how one approaches an employer, what one says to an employer, how one dresses, and more.

The following are just some of the many innovative features that the Career Center has launched to help students feel their most confident when connecting with employers:

• Ear plugs to help with those who have sensitivities to noise
• Dedicated quiet spaces for those who need to regroup or take a break from the fair’s energy
• Volunteers who offer encouraging words to students and check-in to see if they have questions or need support (i.e., practice a handshake, practice their pitch, find an employer)

By the end of the day, WCU students had made lasting impressions once again. “Students showed up to the fair prepared, confident, and ready to meet their futures, as evidenced by the feedback from employers in attendance,” said Long. “Employers shared that the students they met were engaging, prepared with good questions, and eager to explore jobs and internships. Several students left with interviews scheduled, and employers left with a stack of strong resumes. That’s the goal, so we are thrilled!”