The Career Center transformed the fountain parking lot into a real-life LinkedIn on Tuesday, inviting students to shake hands with the 70 employers at the Career Expo. 

Recruiters from organizations like In-N-Out, the Internal Revenue Service and Samaritan’s Purse set up tables in a giant tent across from the Caf, trading business cards for resumes in search of the perfect employee/employer partnership. Outside the tent, the Expo also offered an area for students to get professional headshots taken before stepping into the recruitment field.

Senior communication studies major Cristina Meyer said she has visited career fairs before, outside of Biola. But she said Biola’s career fair was uniquely able to meet the needs of a student body with many different passions. 

“The difference is the amount of opportunities,” she said. “There’s a wide-scale here, versus where I was at a different school and there was less opportunity for non-profits and specifically Christian non-profits.”

RELATIONAL APPROACH

The Career Center also provided a coffee station and an area for photos with Eddie the Eagle. In front of the Health Center stood a colorful art installation styled after the movie “Up,” and the Career Center is inviting students to pin their career aspirations to the display. 

Assistant director of career exploration and experience Heather Martin said the seed of these ideas began in the summer, during a planning meeting. 

“One thing that came up that our Career Center really is striving for is that relational aspect,” she said. “We want the Career Center to be approachable and often times I don’t think that we’re considered the most approachable department, not because of who we are but because we’re ushering people into the next level of professionalism and their next steps and that can sometimes be intimidating for students.”

CAREER MONTH 

The Career Expo is a key event in Biola’s second annual Career Month, which will last through Nov. 22. Career Month includes several panels, company tours and career fairs aimed at preparing students for employment and connecting them with job opportunities. Biola’s Virtual Reality club is also partnering with the Career Center to let students step into a simulated experience of four different job environments. 

The Career Center’s goal is to prepare students for the professional world—but Martin said the Center is taking a relational approach to career development.

“It’s okay to be where you are right now and still engage with the Career Center,” she said. “You don’t necessarily have to know what questions you need to ask. You don’t have to have it all figured out. In fact, We’d love to journey along with you in the midst of lacking clarity or needing to polish some rough edges before you go out into the world.”