After an hour of visiting various employers set up at MTSU Murphy Center Thursday, Oct. 29, nighttime MBA student Matthew West hadn’t yet landed a formal interview, but he said he appreciated the opportunity to get face time with recruiters who may hold the key to the sales job he was hunting.

“It’s a great experience,” said West, sporting a dark gray suit and name tag and clutching copies of his resume.

“It’s always good to get out there and ‘meet and greet’ with some of the employers and get the face-to-face experience that is really necessary in the interview process.”

Organizers estimate about 750 MTSU students and alumni flocked to Murphy Center’s track level Thursday in search of jobs, internships and graduate school opportunities at the 33rd annual MTSU Fall Career Fair.

With 130-plus employers in attendance, this year’s fair was the largest since 2007 and was again free and open to all MTSU students and alumni.

Hosted by the Career Development Center at MTSU, the fall fair is the university’s largest on-campus fair of the year. Participating employers, ranging from FedEx to Kohl’s to ExpressJet, were seeking potential hires for professional entry-level positions and/or career-related internships, while graduate and professional schools were recruiting for their academic programs.

Marissa Stapelman, director of talent acquisition for Lincoln Property Company, said her property management firm was looking to fill entry-level positions.

With locations in Nashville, Hermitage, Franklin, Hendersonville and Smyrna, she said coming to MTSU was a natural fit because of proximity and the desire of some students to land full- or part-time work nearby.

“We’ve met a lot of great people, very outgoing, very professional … and they’ve provided great resumes for us to use in our hiring process,” Stapelman said. “This helps us get our name out there.”

Organizers encouraged attendees to dress in business attire and bring multiple copies of their resumes. In the days leading up to the fair, resume workshops and advising were available at the Career Development Center.

Bill Fletcher

“A lot of employers will participate in a career fair to generate an applicant pool, and then come back to campus to interview students,” said Bill Fletcher, director of the Career Development Center.

“The value of the career fair is that it gives students and employers the opportunity to meet face to face. In this day and time of online applications, that’s very important.”

Fair sponsors included Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, UBS Financial Services and EFC Systems.

The Career Development Center serves all students in each of the university’s nine colleges. Students can come to the center’s office for walk-in advising, resume critiques and more. Scheduled appointments are also available with career advisers. Alumni services are outlined on the center’s website.

For more information about the center, call 615-898-2500 or visit www.mtsu.edu/career.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)

Some of the estimated 750 students and alumni attending MTSU’s Fall Career Fair  discuss their options with potential employers Thursday, Oct. 29, on the track level at Murphy Center. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

MTSU senior William Coleman, left, talks with Chauntrell Clay, a representative of Cigna’s Technology Early Career Development Program, during the 2015 Fall Career Fair held Thursday, Oct. 29, at Murphy Center. (MTSU photos by Andy Heidt)