The School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host its second annual Career Expo at the Silver Grille in Cleveland April 4. Even before break, JMC began preparing students to talk to potential employers.

On Tuesday, March 18 JMC hosted an Interview Skills workshop to help students prepare to talk to potential internship providers and employers. Coordinator of Career Services John Butte led the discussion.

The workshop also featured two communications professionals from Cleveland: Dan Salamone, news director at WOIO/WUAB and Mark Nylander, senior advisor with Dix & Eaton. Nylander said the duo would provide overviews on their experience in conducting interviews, hiring new employees and offered the “do’s and dont’s” of interviews. They also conducted a mock interview with those in attendance and provided feedback on how the interview went.

“We thought this workshop would be a great idea to prepare students for the type of conversation that they’re going to have with potential employers at the expo,” Nylander said.

The Interviews Skills workshop offered preparation for students to talk with the businesses attending the expo this year on April 4, Butte said. The expo, which will be open to juniors and seniors in the College of Communication and Information, will host approximately 30 communication companies from Northeast Ohio and offer the opportunity to get jobs and internships or just have career conversations with professionals. Butte said some of the companies attending would include Cleveland television stations and print outlets, as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns.

“The interesting thing about the job fair is that you may not run into a job or an internship there, but you get an afternoon of interviewing with potential employers and it’s just good experience,” Butte said.

One student who attended last year’s Career Expo, Sade Hale, said that it was a good opportunity to acquire internships, network and again experience talking to people in the communication field. Hale, who is a senior magazine journalism major, said students should go to the expo with an open mind.

“Brush up on your resume and cover letters,” she said. “Just go out and put your best work forward and talk to everyone there.”

Overall, the goal is to help students achieve their career goals, Nylander said.

“Our goal is to achieve student success, and I think this is, in a large measure, one of the ways we can help our students be successful,” Nylander said.

Contact Heather Inglis at [email protected].