UW job fair reflects a boost in hiring prospects for students

The University of Wyoming’s fall job fair was Tuesday, and the students’ outlook was optimistic.
A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers projects hiring will increase 13-percent for college graduates this spring compared with the same time in 2012.
 
The number of businesses represented at the fall job fair rose slightly this year, from the mid-80s to low-90s. Jo Chytka of the UW Center for Advising and Career Services says energy engineering jobs tend to dominate the fall job fair, where businesses look for students about to graduate.
 
“Looking at the composition of companies, we have some new ones we haven’t had before. That’s a good indication that it is a stronger job market,” Chytka says.
 
Charles Halsted of the Colorado-based Calfrac Well Service Corp. manned a booth near the doors to the ballroom, chatting up students. Last year, Calfrac found and hired a UW graduate, who is now working as a field engineer for the energy company.
 
“I’m looking for people with a good work ethic, willing to put in the hours, willing to learn and try. It’s a lot of work working in the oil industry,” Halsted says. “You gotta be made of the proper stuff to do that.”
 
Chytka says the Center for Advising and Career Services will host another job fair in the spring, which smaller companies and ones looking for interns usually attend.
 
She recommends that imminent graduates polish up their resumes, research attending companies, and have a clear idea of what they’d like to do when they get their degrees.