Every year Malden High School hosts two job fairs, one of which takes place in November and the other takes place in late April. Different employers come to the High School with The Metro North Workforce Development Board or MassHire. MassHire reaches out to their network of employers to ask them to attend the fair but first, the school has to pick a date months in advance to ensure they have the space. This requires finding a time that is convenient for the students and the teachers in the building.
“We usually shoot for a gold day during advisory/enrichment and try to go into a couple of the lunches so students are not missing entire classes. We want them to visit the job fair for a couple of minutes,” stated Erin Craven, the Director of School Counseling. On the day of the 11th annual job fair, the employers came into the school to set up at the gallery at 8:30. The company MassHire provides refreshments for all of the employers coming in to see the students.
“The setup is pretty quick. Each company that is coming comes in and sets up their own table for the school side. We make sure the gallery is clear, there is no trash, the doors are unlocked and the employers come in and do their own thing with setting up,” stated Taryn Gabbay, the Brunelli House Counselor.
It did not take long for the gallery to be packed with people so the staff was forced to close off students from entering until the congestion of students inside cleared up. Each table had either two or more employers sitting and waiting for students to approach. When students arrived, they were required to write their names and ages down on a sheet of paper.
One table that got more attention than others was the employers of Lego Discovery Center in Boston. The employers wish to “hire employees that have a passion for working with kids. They need to be energetic and enthusiastic and most importantly passionate and fun,” stated Jonathan Tanco, the Operations Manager at Lego Discovery Center.
Many students at the high school either have had a job before or have no work experience and attending the job fairs may help get students employed. “I would say that I have two main focuses or foci when hosting job fairs, one is to help any students looking directly for employment and have the opportunity to meet with an employer directly and gain useful knowledge and skills. My second goal is for students who are trying to think about what they want to do after high school, to be able to open their eyes to post-secondary options,” stated Craven.
“I think that it’s an important or a really helpful event in the school that we have done for a number of years. Even if a student isn’t looking for a job, I think that it’s a great opportunity for students to have more professional interactions with employers and it’s a great thing for students to take advantage of,” added Gabbay.
With the help of Erin Craven, Taryn Gabbay, Malden High School, and MassHire, the school hosted another successful Job Fair, and high schoolers can look forward to attending upcoming fairs next school year.
