For someone looking for an internship, part-time job, or full-time opportunity, in-person connections are the best way to show off skills and highlight work experiences to potential employers. Face-to-face communication is often a way for candidates to stand out among the competition and be remembered by recruiters.
For the first time ever, World Dairy Expo held an event to give job seekers that space to network with companies and have the in-person experience they may have been missing over the course of the pandemic.
For Cassi Miller, the international and youth specialist at World Dairy Expo, the event is perfect for both recruiters and candidates. When explaining the idea behind the event, she said, “Career Connections was made based off our trade show with a career fair aspect.”
“We obviously have commercial exhibitors and dairy cattle exhibitors who are looking for help and people are coming to Expo searching for new opportunities,” Miller stated. “This event was our way of getting them all in one room.”
With Career Connections, Miller believes that the best of the dairy industry is coming together. “Those who come to Expo are innovative and looking for change in the dairy industry,” she said. She noted that the students at World Dairy Expo are go-getters as they are willing to leave the classrooms and obtain new experiences.
Representing his organization, Tommy Richardson of Deer Creek Seed Co. was eagerly looking for potential hires at Career Connections. He said, “It was exciting to see there was a lot of young blood in the room and potential talent.”
Richardson stated that this event was unlike regular career fairs because it was specific to agriculture and the room was filled with people of the same common interest. “It makes our company stand out, opposed to being at a regular career fair,” he noted.
Moving forward, Miller hopes to see more recruiters at Career Connections. She said, “I really hope to get more participation from not only our commercial exhibitors, but our dairy cattle exhibitors.” As dairy farmers and exhibitors are looking for more help with their operations or show string, this event is the perfect place to find those employees.
The Career Connections event at World Dairy Expo hosts networking for recruiters and job candidates.
Hoard’s at Expo is sponsored by Agri-Plastics Group of Companies
Jessica Schmitt grew up working on her family’s dairy farm near Fort Atkinson, Iowa. She recently completed her junior year at Iowa State University where she is triple majoring in dairy science, international agriculture, and agricultural and life sciences education with a communications option. Schmitt served as the 2021 Hoard’s Dairyman editorial intern this summer.
