Career-specific job fair brings media outlets in direct contact with Hall School of Journalism and Communication students

Hall School of Journalism and Communication students got the opportunity to network, meet with employers and pursue job or internship opportunities at Thursday’s journalism career fair.

Held in the Trojan Center ballrooms, the career fair featured 13 employers and was mandatory for HSJC majors and minors, said Robbyn Taylor, director of the department.

Hall School alumna Claudia Peppenhorst now works as a reporter for Huntsville's WAAF TV. (TROY photo/Joey Meredith) — Hall School alumna Claudia Peppenhorst now works as a reporter for Huntsville’s WAAF TV. (TROY photo/Joey Meredith)

“A lot of times, the all-inclusive career fairs have people who can say ‘we have a communications department’ or ‘we’re hiring for these positions’, but they don’t really know about the positions, and they aren’t specifically recruiting for journalism and communications,” said Taylor. “This was a way for us to get our students in front of employers looking to hire their specific majors.”

While some students might not be in a position to get a job or internship yet, Taylor emphasized the importance of looking at the options available.

“We made this opportunity mandatory because it’s really important to start thinking about your future jobs before you need a job,” said Taylor. “One of the goals of this career fair was for students to be able to network with employers that were close enough to be involved in mentorship activities or internships.”

Networking, particularly for students not ready for the workforce yet, is crucial to making connections early and often.

“[The career fair] was a really great networking opportunity,” said Emily Mosier, a sophomore double majoring in Multimedia Journalism and English. “As a sophomore, these are not immediately going to lead to jobs, but there was someone who recognized me from the last career fair and we were able to pick up where we left off.”

Although the career fair provided networking, it also helped some students attain jobs or internships. Multiple students were given internship offers on the spot, said Taylor. She added that there were a few students who are now being interviewed for potential job positions.

Some of the employers at the event have hired recent TROY grads and came to the career fair to meet more students from the program.

“It was really interesting that the stations that Claudia Peppenhorst and Georgia Clark work at came here,” said Mosier. “It was cool to see alumni and peers we had classes with just last year come back.”