More than 50 School of Behavioral Health students gathered at the Drayson Center on Friday, April 11, to prepare themselves for a different kind of workout—entering the job market as soon-to-graduate social workers, MFTs, and psychologists at the SBH Job Fair. This was the School's first dedicated career event—a chance for students to meet mental health providers with jobs to fill, engage with future colleagues, and get a professional headshot for their LinkedIn profile. Exhibitors including the Loma Linda University (LLU) Medical Center and the LLU Behavioral Medicine Center, Olive Crest, Riverside County DPSS, SAC Medical Clinics, Clay Counseling Services, the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, and 14 more were there to meet this year's graduating class, catch up with colleagues, and with luck, find the next essential member of their staff.
Students made their way through the aisles of exhibitor tables, meeting agency reps and gathering swag, and visiting the refreshment table to keep their energy up. Another boost came in the form of hourly drawings for two $50 Visa gift cards, while those who'd signed up for the LinkedIn Photo Booth managed to keep their clothes, hair, and makeup fresh while waiting their turn with the photographer. In the end, 33 students got professional-quality headshots taken. The final event, the Alumni-Employer Career Roundtables, placed students, alumni, and exhibitors at, you guessed it, round tables—discussing the job market, the transition from a student mindset to a professional mindset, the challenge of applying skills acquired in classrooms and internships to the real world, and lots of other things besides. The twist at these Roundtables was that every 15 minutes the student attendees rose and moved another table, to talk to a new set of alumni and employers, until they'd visited each of the four tables in the room.
The jury's out on whether the Job Fair will turn into an annual event, but the students, exhibitors, and even SBH faculty and staff seemed to consider it time well spent.
Written by Molly Dougherty, Event Coordinator
