Ilitch School Fall Career Fair draws 760 students and over 80 top companies to the Ilitch School of Business
On October 2, 2024, 760 Mike Ilitch School of Business students and alumni took their next College to Career steps by attending the first All Majors Ilitch School Career Fair.
Over 80 companies, some with as many as 10 employee representatives, attended the First Annual Ilitch School on site career fair. The companies present at the Fair included General Motors, Stellantis, WM, Ford, Toyota, Aflac, Ally, BDO, IRS and IRS Criminal Investigation, Northwestern Mutual, State Budget Office of Michigan, BorgWarner, Olympia Entertainment, UHY, Little Caesars, Deloitte, DHL, FDIC, Kroger, PNC, Target, US Secret Service, Comerica Bank, DTE Energy, Huntington Bank and more. Recruiters directed students to resources, accepted resumes and scheduled interviews with Ilitch School students and alumni.
Ilitch School of Business students came prepared, dressed in professional outfits, with prepared resumes and rehearsed elevator pitches. Some attendees reported they had interviews scheduled for the following day, and others scheduled less formal "coffee chats" to talk with recruiters further about opportunities.
Among those well-prepared students was Isaiah Buckley, who is going into his senior year studying business administration. He researched the companies of interest to him ahead of time, seeking out the opportunities that best matched his interests.
"Right now, I'm looking at Echo [Global Logistics], they seem to be people who align with entrepreneurship, so I could really take advantage of the opportunities they have there," said Buckley. "I want to put myself out there and take advantage of these opportunities, talk to managers and try to get a feel for how I need to model myself."
Ilitch School Dean Virginia Kleist was delighted with the level of company turnout and excellence of student engagement, commenting that "We really want to place our well-educated business students so they have great jobs after graduation. The employers that are here today want to help our students get these jobs. We are deeply engaged with so many of these companies in our classrooms and Boards, and many of them sent Ilitch School alums to represent their companies. So, we are coming full circle."
While this is the first all major career fair hosted at the Ilitch School, it certainly won't be the last. Students will have another opportunity to connect and network with recruiters at the Winter Ilitch School Career Fair, to be held on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Students can receive updates on the career fair and on the career fair workshops on the events calendar and the Ilitch School social media channels.
-Patrick Bernas, Information Officer III
The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.