Recruiters from hundreds of companies from across the United States will travel to University of Wisconsin-Stout to interview students for internships and post-graduation positions during the university’s four-day Career Conference Week.
More than 2,000 students will connect with leading employers in engineering, packaging, plastics, design, hospitality and more at five industry-focused fairs from Monday, Feb. 24, to Thursday, Feb. 27, hosted by Career Services at the Memorial Student Center.
Fortune 500 companies attending are 3M, Boston Scientific, DR Horton, Fastenal, Hershey, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hilton, JLL, Marriott, Northwestern Mutual Insurance, Parker Hannifin, Rockwell Automation, Sanmina and Xcel.
Sundt, a construction company based in Tucson, Ariz., hires UW-Stout construction management students to fill a variety of internship roles, including field engineering, estimating, VDC – virtual design and construction, information and technology, prequalification and more.
As one of the country’s largest general contractors, Sundt has several UW-Stout alumni among its more than 2,000 employees. “The alumni speak very highly about the education and experience they received at Stout and are very passionate about recruiting from the program,” said Marissa Anderson, senior college recruiting specialist with Sundt.
“Being an Arizona-based company, we have largely sought interns from Wisconsin due to our strong alumni network. We have found that the students in the program are very hardworking and are often interested in traveling to new regions in the U.S.,” she added.
Menards, in Eau Claire, has been among the national employers who routinely hire manufacturing, business, and design graduates for their corporate operations. It employs about 320 alumni.
Internship opportunities are open to students from various programs, including computer science and IT-related degrees, as well as business, marketing, management and more.
As one of the largest career conferences in the Midwest, with more than 2,500 employers attending the past 10 semiannual events, UW-Stout’s Career Conference contributes to the success of recent graduates, who have a 99% employment rate within six months of graduation or are continuing education.
Many of the recruiters represent businesses that have formed deeper connections with UW-Stout over the years, including through the Career Services Partnership Program. CSPP works with employers to identify their strategic focus and build deeper connections with students and academic programs on campus.
Sundt and Menards are top-level CSPP members, as well as EVCO Plastics, in DeForest; Fastenal, in Winona, Minn.; Greenheck Group, in Schofield; Heartland Business Systems, in Little Chute; Knobelsdorff Enterprises, in Goodhue, Minn.; and Phillips-Medisize, in Hudson.
“CSPP is a great opportunity to bridge a relationship with Stout and allows each side to share insight to create the best experience and opportunity for students,” said Chance Morse, Menards general office operations manager.
Menards was Career Services’ inaugural Employer of the Year in 2021 and was the first company to join the CSPP program.
“We are excited to bring a strong group of employers to campus to meet with students, connect with faculty and academic programs and strengthen their connection to UW-Stout,” said Career Services Director Bryan Barts. “Throughout the week, we know many connections will take place, whether through the career events, program advisory committee meetings or classroom visits – all part of the focus we have on business and industry collaborations.”
Students are encouraged to attend any and all days. Alumni are invited as well.
To prepare for the Career Conference, Morse reminded students to bring a resume. “Do not be afraid to seek out multiple employers, as you never know unless you ask,” he added. “Be bold. Employers like students that will come up to them and speak confidently.”
Anderson advised students to take their time before the fair to identify the top companies they wish to speak. “Research a company’s work and open positions and prepare a few questions for the career fair team. Having prior knowledge and interest in the companies that you are talking with goes a long way,” she said.
The week’s events are:
- Monday: Computing, Data, Software and Security
- Tuesday morning: Packaging, Print and Design
- Tuesday afternoon: Science and Engineering
- Wednesday: Construction
- Thursday: Management, Business, Hospitality and Human Sciences
On Tuesday of the conference, Career Services will be partnering with Veteran Services to provide support specific to UW-Stout military and veteran students and their families. Throughout the week, Career Services will also be denoting employers attending the events who have developed intentional recruitment programs and pathways for veterans to ensure awareness and provide military and veteran students and their families valuable career connections.
Career Services will also host a Career Savvy Summit: Essential Skills for a Global Career from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6. This one-day conference aims to enhance students’ global competencies, significantly boosting their career readiness in an evolving labor market. It will center around intercultural competencies, metacognition skills and global citizenship.
Employers connect with students graduating into the workforce as well as with juniors and seniors looking for internships and opportunities to enhance their applied learning. The Cooperative Education and Internship Program helps to coordinate students’ required experiential learning components and builds partnerships between employers, students, and university faculty and staff.
The CEIP program received the 2024 annual Excellence & Innovation Stewards of Place award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities “for its outstanding results and potential to influence and serve as a model for other institutions.”
More than 1,000 students enroll each year in CEIP, completing hands-on co-ops and internships at more than 500 companies in Wisconsin and nationally. More than 27,000 UW-Stout students have benefited from the program since its inception in 1982.
Career Services recently received the Wisconsin Association of Colleges and Employers’ Outstanding Organization Award for demonstrating leadership and excellence, implementing new approaches and serving as a recruitment voice for industry partners.
