Students looking for part time  employment during the upcoming fall semester should make plans to attend the part-time job fair on Aug. 25 in the Student Union Mall.  Students are encouraged to stop by between classes from the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to meet with prospective employers.

Employers from the Hammond, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Northshore regional areas will be in attendance.  Some of the employers that will be attending include the American Red Cross, Aspen Clinic, Auto Zone, Bass Pro Shops, Hannis T. Bourgeois, LLP, LeBlanc’s Food Stores, Maurices, Neill Corporation, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Pizza Hut.  There are already 32 employers registered to attend the event and the Office of Career Services hopes to add more in the next few weeks.

“We are on track to have about 40-45 employers by the time the event occurs,” said Kenneth Ridgedell, director of Career Services, “We are inviting employers and calling upon employers right up until the day or two before the event. On average we have between 40-45 employers and we think we will have a similar number this time.”

According to Ridgedell, of the employers attending most are looking to hire more than one candidate for either the same job position or multiple job positions. However, there are many who attend the job fair and many submit applications for just the relative few available positions.  It’s not completely clear what percent of students who apply are actually hired.

“It’s a very difficult thing to track,” said Ridgedell, “But I can tell you from feedback from employers that do attend the part-time job fair they get a lot of people who apply and its very competitive for many of these jobs.”

While simply attending the part-time job fair certainly does not guarantee a student a part-time job, there are ways to increase your competitive edge. While the event is casual and informal, the Office of Career Services recommends attending the event in business casual attire or at least in clothes that are not revealing and have no rips or tears. Having an updated resume on hand is also a way to set you apart from others.

For more information on the part-time job fair you may contact the Office of Career Services by phone at (985) 549-2121, by email at [email protected] or visit their Web page at www.selu.edu/career.