STLCC Offers Career Help for Students

With companies throughout the country struggling to fill open positions, upcoming graduate Jordan Floyd can be picky about where she lands in her chosen industry. 

Floyd graduates from St. Louis Community College this month and enters the workforce in a few weeks. She said her experience in the radiologic technology department has prepared her well to move into her chosen profession.

She also said she received more than just a great education at STLCC.

“Everyone has been really involved in not just building our skills, but building us as people, helping us do everything from building our resumes to networking to making connections,” Floyd said. “From the very beginning, the College has been very good at giving us those resources.”

The latest resource came on June 23, when the career development department hosted a career fair that brought about two dozen soon-to-be radiology graduates together with employers from throughout St. Louis. The recruiters participated in a question-and-answer session before the organization representatives took seats behind tables that lined a room in the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, where they talked with each of the students.

It marked the third time career development held a fair for students in health sciences, with dental hygiene and respiratory care leading off. The department believes more are on the horizon for not just health care departments, but other areas of the College as well.

“From the student standpoint, I think this is really, really amazing,” said Maddie Ruff, career specialist. “Our goal is to provide a premier student experience through opportunities. That’s exactly what this is.

“We want to have these opportunities for our students to sit down with employers and meet with people from different places to really know that when they leave the College, they can end up in the right spot for them,” Ruff added.

Floyd, who eventually wants to get into radiation therapy, said the career fair provided a great opportunity for her and her fellow students. In past years, about the only way to meet recruiters was to send in a resume and hope you got a call back and possibly an interview.

Last month’s event was a win-win situation for everyone. Employers got to showcase themselves to a large group of graduates from the region’s largest radiology program, and the students got a look at possible employers, all with numerous openings.

“I think it’s really cool,” Floyd said. “It’s really beneficial that they bring them to us in a more relaxed environment rather than a full-on, intimidating interview. It’s more of a relaxed setting where you can get to know people on a personal level and make connections.”

That low-pressure approach works for the employers as well.

Kelsey McClure, director of imaging at SSM Health Medical Group, said she appreciated the opportunity to get in front of college students soon to enter the workforce. Instead of hoping the person on the other side of the resume turns out to be who the employer hopes he or she is, the career fairs allow for a more personal connection.

It’s a changing approach in the industry that McClure enjoys.

“It’s extremely beneficial,” she said. “Sometimes the biggest obstacle for us is getting people to come to us and finding our positions in the sea of positions currently posted online. Once they come to us, they love us, but we’ve got to get them to come see the greatness SSM Health has to offer.”