On Tuesday Nov. 19 the Greensboro Marriott hosted North Carolina Career Consortium’s (NCCC) annual Career Fair for the nine member schools. The NCCC is made up of nine liberal arts schools in North Carolina and the Career Fair attracts employers that wouldn’t visit the individual schools. Seventy-nine employers who have operations in North Carolina came to entice potential employees.

The employers ranged from the Navy, the U.S. Government, Americorps, and the Peace Corps to law enforcement to high-tech companies like Apex Analytix.

The options varied as much as the employers. Even for first-year students there were opportunities. “This offered an opportunity to explore the job market; to see what kind of fields have openings, and what kind of skills employers are looking for,” said Irene Harrington, Guilford’s director of career development. “It prepares people for the job market. It makes it less intimidating.”

Stephen Hale, the representative from Apex Analytix, a post-audit and software firm, said that he expected a “high likelihood that we will bring in at least a large majority of the people we’ve spoken to for an interview, and we will probably fill at least one position from the people here today.”

When asked about the Guilford students he encountered that day, Hale responded that he thought that because of Guilford’s strong business program, “the students who have come from Guilford College have been very well prepared for the job fair.”

Most students in attendance found the NCCC Career Fair useful.

Elena Kovalenko said, “I think it was very helpful. There were a lot of opportunities for all majors, so every student had a choice.”

Both Kovalenko and Sarah Herndon, a senior, found the information on the types of jobs they were seeking.

“I was looking for something in social work,” said Herndon, “something entry level, though, to precede grad school.”

The NCCC Career Fair showcased 79 North Carolina employers to college students, and showcased college students from nine North Carolina liberal arts schools to employers.