A first-time event at Michigan State University puts a special focus on hiring opportunities at Michigan companies during this year’s celebration of National Engineers Week, Feb. 16-23.
“Engineered in the Mitten” is the first Michigan-only job fair hosted at the MSU College of Engineering, said Kyle Liechty, co-op and intern coordinator for the college.
The career expo is for College of Engineering students from 1-4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17 in the MSU Engineering Building.
“We’ve lined up around 65 companies from around the state to be introduced to Spartan engineering students, who may not even know that these diverse, regional businesses exist,” Liechty said. “This is a perfect opportunity for students who want to work closer to home and be a part of the state’s smaller cities and communities to explore future possibilities with Michigan employers.”
The expo will feature company representatives looking for summer and fall co-ops and interns as well as future full-time employees.
These representatives will be from both small cities like Hillsdale, Jackson and Owosso, and some of the state’s largest cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids and Traverse City.
“We will welcome a diverse range of companies, including small companies to those with a number of opportunities around the state," Liechty said.
Also, some of the college's regular recruiting partners will be attending and Materne, manufacturer of GoGo squeeZ snack pouches, will be coming from the Grand Traverse area to recruit Spartan engineers for the first time, Liechty said.
“We think ‘Engineered in the Mitten’ will be a cool forum for companies that may not regularly recruit like this, but will have an equal shot at some of the best young engineering and computer science talent in the state,” Liechty said.
Larger schools don’t necessarily create connections between small companies and students, said Garth Motschenbacher, director of employer relations in the College of Engineering.
“This is a great crossover event featuring small businesses and start-ups along with Michigan’s large name-brand organizations,” Motschenbacher said. “It has opportunities on both sides of the equation – opening eyes and ears for students and company representatives alike.”
“Engineered in the Mitten” is just one of many activities during this year’s celebration of National Engineers Week. Check out the full EWeek calendar at the Center for Spartan Engineering.