Grand Valley State University student Kristina Green is on track to graduate this spring. In the fall, Green decided to visit the fall career fair, not knowing what would come of it.

“At the fall career fair, I met with a recruiter from Quicken Loans,” Green said. “He suggested I go online to apply for an open position. While I wasn’t able to accept the open position as I still had a semester of school left to go, I was able to establish a connection with the company and have now interviewed with them for their summer internship program.”

Many others too have found success at GVSU-sponsored career fairs, a biannual event put on by Career Services.

The winter career fair will take place in the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids on Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m.

Featured at the fair will be 168 employers from the greater Grand Rapids area to offer 5,300 jobs to students from GVSU as well as 10 other participating schools.

College students and professionals are encouraged to attend the free event to increase their chances of landing a job or internship. By meeting employers face-to-face, applicants have a chance to sell themselves and stand out, something that is difficult to do through online applications.

GVSU has hosted a career fair consecutively for at least 26 years. While job placement is hard to gauge, the number of employers returning to these fairs to recruit is a good indicator of the economy’s status. Although employers have been tentative the last few years, opportunities are opening up.

Employers will offer jobs and internships in a wide variety of disciplines such as business and non-profit and public sectors as well as the health care field, which is looking for people outside of health majors as well including those relating to marketing, human resources, and security.

The Winter Career Fair is open to students of all disciplines and ages.

The fair may be beneficial even if a particular student or graduate is not looking for a job, said Susan Proctor, assistant director of GVSU Career Services.

“It’s never too early to start looking,” Proctor said. “It’s good to have an understanding of what types of businesses and jobs are out there.”

Last year, 1,200 total students and alumni attended the fair. Most employers will meet with between 10 and 50 of these students, whom they will screen based upon qualifications, experience and the ability to communicate effectively.

“There are jobs out there, and there is hope for students,” Proctor said. “You need to come to the fair.”

Students are encouraged to research companies beforehand, bring resumes and dress professionally. Some preparation info is available on the website, www.gvsu.edu/careerfairs.

hmatro@lanthorn.com