Career Fair Prep Event Prepares Huskers to Stand Out

Lincoln, NE – On Wednesday, February 10th, Nebraska Life Skills hosted its annual Student-Athlete Career Fair event, but with a twist. Unlike the traditional Student-Athlete Career Fair hosted in Memorial Stadium each spring, this event was held virtually on Zoom, but it had the same goal of preparing student-athletes for the annual campus career fairs where they will connect with potential employers in their fields.

Over 250 junior and senior Husker student-athletes attended the session, which consisted of three speakers giving them tips for the upcoming virtual campus career fairs and their future outside of athletics. The three speakers included: Taylor Barnes who serves as the Director of Campus Selection and Development at Northwestern Mutual, Nebraska Track and Field Alum Patrick Burke who serves as the Marketing Manager at Union Pacific Railroad, and Mallory Celani who serves as the Assistant Director of Employer and Internship Strategy for the University of Nebraska.

Each of the speakers reassured the athletes that employers have a keen interest in adding former student-athletes to their organizational ranks.

"Be calm, be confident, and be genuine," Burke advised. "I think recruiters, the really good ones, they're trying to find out who you are, what values you have, what your kind of nature is, that way they can feel comfortable with you."

As student-athletes continued to listen, they started to engage with the speakers. For many in attendance, the Career Fair Prep Event served as an ideal place to ask questions and clarify what the next steps towards becoming a young professional are.

"One key takeaway I had was don't be shy. Reach out and get yourself on a company's radar," said junior Soccer student-athlete Allison Ulness. "Create your network because just having a LinkedIn connection isn't enough."

Not only did student-athletes learn how to best represent themselves, but they also learned how to create connections with employers at the career fair.

"I hear about this from employers every single semester of fairs," said Celani. "You really are going to put your best foot forward if you do some research on who you are going to talk to."

For this exact reason, it is essential for Husker student-athletes to learn more about professional etiquette and how to best prepare and represent themselves prior to the career fair.

"A key takeaway I gained was research before the career fair is very important. Employers are looking for people who have done the research beforehand," said senior Softball student-athlete Tristen Edwards.

Student-athletes spent the evening listening to the speakers and asking them questions about how to stand out to employers.

"You have a confidence, and you have a lot of intangible skills that employers are looking for," said Barnes. "So, how do you stand out? Just be you. Naturally, you are so gifted in so many ways. It's your chance to be able to represent yourself."

As the session finished up, Celani highlighted what the student-athletes should expect at the upcoming virtual campus career fairs.

"I know with the Student-Athlete Career Fair; you typically have one night, and you have a focus group of employers that come to meet with you. With the virtual career fair across the broader campus, you have four days of fairs that you can attend. Each of those is different and the way you can select which one of those is the best one to attend is by career pathway," explained Celani.

Events such as Wednesday's Career Fair Prep Event give student-athletes the tools they need as they prepare to use the professional development skills they have been working on for years.

"I believe that this event is extremely beneficial for student-athletes and preparing for life after sports.," said senior Baseball student-athlete Logan Foster. "An important takeaway that I got was how to manage your LinkedIn account. Considering the world is going more remote/virtual, it is important to have your profile up-to-date."

The virtual career fairs will allow student-athletes to establish new connections and network with prospective employers, but as many of the speakers mentioned, they should seek to connect outside of the career fair and continue to prepare for their life after sports.