Education majors won't have to travel far for job interviews Feb. 28.
Education Interview Day will be held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thirty-three organizations from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee will attend the event. Organizations include independent schools as well as multi-school systems.
"It's a good way to get your name and your face out there, even if you don't get a job or you don't get any offers on the spot," said Dori Dobbs, junior in English education and president of the College of Education. "It's just a good interview experience to get an idea for future interviews and how they're going to go. It's a great way to network even if nothing comes of it."
From 9 to 10 a.m., students browse exhibits from each organization in a career fair format. Students may be given the chance to schedule an interview for later in the day, said Elisabeth Johnson, on-campus recruiting and special events assistant.
"They may meet with six or seven schools that day, or maybe they'll just meet with one or two depending on first impressions and what the representatives think of them," Johnson said.
Interviews will last from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"In a usual setting, you'd be lucky to get one interview each day," Johnson said. "Here, they're all coming to you. That's the biggest benefit I see."
Students are encouraged to wear business professional attire, said Christen Holmes, senior in English education.
"These principals that come in--they are, of course, always looking for someone that catches their eye and would be great in that position," Holmes said. "It's just a great preparation. I feel like a lot of other majors don't get anything similar to that, and it's a huge help."
Holmes will also bring her resume, cover letter and four letters of recommendation.
"I want to take this as if it's a real interview," Holmes said. "This is like a dress rehearsal."
Dobbs said attendees are usually juniors or seniors.
"It's a great way for students that are looking for jobs right out of college to be able to network with people from these schools that want to talk to them," Dobbs said.
Education interviews differ from other kinds of interviews, Holmes said.
"In the interviews I've had at Auburn, they ask you a lot about yourself, about your past, previous things you've done," Holmes said. "Education interviews are more based around what you would do in a classroom. They want to see how you would handle a classroom and classroom management, classroom discipline, innovative ways to use technology in a classroom."
Dobbs said although some job markets are suffering, she sees education as constant.
"One of the main reasons I chose education was because there's always a demand for teachers," Dobbs said. "It's the one thing you can't really cut back on. I think the job market is probably not at its best just because the economy is terrible right now, but as far as I know they can't really cut teachers all that much, which is what's wonderful about education."
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