Companies Recuit Engineers, YSU Business Students
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Gina Snavely of Columbiana acknowledges finding a job in engineering in this area can be tough. Nevertheless, as graduation approaches in December, the chemical engineering major appeared upbeat about her prospects as she visited companies exhibiting at Youngstown State University’s Fall Career Fair.
“Everyone’s been very nice and welcoming. I got to learn a lot about their companies” and, hopefully, line up some “great opportunities,” she remarked.
Snavely was among the YSU students, graduates and others who participated in Tuesday’s event, held in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center. Nearly 400 students were expected to meet with representatives of 90 employers who exhibited at the event, said Jennifer Johnson, director of career services at YSU.
“It started really strong. We had some students waiting in line to come in so we are pleased to see that the students are eager to attend and to get in here first to get an opportunity to talk to the employers,” she said.
“The students are hopeful about the job market,” Johnson added. "The fact that so many employers were in attendance and recruiting for different positions is making the students feel hopeful."
A high number of employers were recruiting for engineers and accountants “but it’s really across the board,” she continued. “I’m seeing a lot of hospitality management jobs available, general business. There’s a wide range of employers that are here.”
Snavely is eeking a full-time position. She is “kind of open” in terms of what she is looking for, she said. Her internship experiences involved some mechanical engineering, and companies she met with included General Motors, she reported.
Among the companies recruiting for engineers was Northrop Grumman Corp. of Linthicum, Md. Howard Sheppa, a 1983 graduate of YSU and field engineering and services manager for Northrop, was on site recruiting to fill engineering positions including electrical, computer science and computer engineering. “We do hire across the board” and Northrup has positions ope in supply chain management, accounting and business management, he said.
During Tuesday’s event, Sheppa met with electrical engineering graduates as well as two aerospace grads from Case Western University. He acknowledged he was “very interested in some of these young folks.”
At the booth of Eye Lighting International of North America Inc., Harry West, director of manufacturing and warehouse operations, was recruiting primarily for electrical, mechanical and design engineers to develop the next generation of energy-efficient lighting products, as well as marketing professionals.
“A lot of promising young engineers have stopped by,” he remarked. “I’m pretty happy at the turnout so far.”
Vallourec Star, which earlier this year unveiled its new $1.1 billion pipe mill in Youngstown, also was seeking mechanical and electrical engineers. “But there’s a wide variety of internships” as well as positions in the company’s finance and business operations here and in the Houston area, said Stanley Czeck, senior methods engineer with VAM USA, a Vallourec division. Competition for skilled workers is “pretty fierce,” he acknowledged.
“There is a lot of good talent right here in the Youngstown area and we’re trying to promote it and develop it,” Czeck said.
The Coca Cola Bottling Co. was looking for entry-level sales associates. The company has two avenues of business, home market and food service on premises, where beverages are consumed on site, said Mark Stout, area sales manager based in Pittsburgh. The Atlanta-based company also has operations here.
“For us, it all starts with a good personality” as well as a technical background, Stout said. “We’re really computer savvy so technology helps.” Education in business management and related fields helps as well.
By late morning, Stout said he had already had some “pretty promising applicants.”
Jacob Schaefer, an international business major from Warren, acknowledged the job market is “extremely competitive,” and students “have to do something that sets yourself apart” from other job candidates, whether through work experiences, internships or extracurricular activities. Schaefer will be going to London next spring, the beginning of his senior year, for an international business co-op, he said. Interested in health care administration, he spent a lot of time talking with representatives of Humility of Mary Health Care.
Not all the students in attendance were interested in a job, at least not in the near term. Brandi Burrows of Niles, a sophomore prelaw/political science major, said she was “getting a feel” so she can be more prepared when she comes back during her junior and senior years. “I’m very concerned about job stability and good pay,” Burrows remarked. “I’m concerned about finding a company that is stable and one that isn’t very well known for layoffs.”
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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