On Thursday, March 19th, Mayo High School will host the Spring Job Fair at door 1, during the 4th and 5th hour lunches. The fair allows students to learn about local businesses, giving them a chance to schedule an interview right then and there. This year, the fair is expected to host 13 different booths, with business types ranging from fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s to healthcare internships with the Mayo Clinic. Over the years, the job fair has hosted many different types of businesses, with this year’s newest addition being the Rochester Police Department. 

The fair makes the job search significantly simpler by putting all the businesses that are hiring in one spot, near the Spartan Shack, instead of having students go through the trial-and-error process of finding a business that needs help. Once arriving at the fair, students walk from booth to booth, speaking with the potential employers face-to-face. 

Over the years, the job fair has been extremely beneficial to Mayo Spartans. Noah Midtovne, a senior who has attended fairs in the past, stated, “Two years ago, I actually found my current job at Chick-fil-A… If they didn’t have a booth there, I probably would’ve never applied.” This is a perfect example of how it is advantageous for students to attend the job fair.

This event is also worthwhile for those who aren’t actively looking for a job. Eventually, everyone will need to find employment, and this event will help by strengthening each student’s professional skills. The event organizer Ms. Amanda Burget stated, “This fair isn’t only about students landing a job; a big part of this event is to help students gain more confidence in their networking and professionalism skills that are used every day in post-high school careers.” Overall, the fair is a great way for students to learn about skills that normally get pushed aside in a traditional classroom.

The job fair is mutually beneficial for both Mayo High School and the local businesses, offering applicants available positions that need to be filled. In turn, the businesses are more likely to return to future events, providing an even greater opportunity to students in the coming years. Beyond that, the job fair impacts the city of Rochester as a whole; “When a student gets their paycheck from one of these jobs, a majority of that money is spent right here in town, whether it be a movie or a night out to eat. If Rochester had more teen workers in our city, we would [improve] our town’s economy by creating more local consumers,” Burget said. 

So remember – the job fair is taking place today. It is not only an opportunity for students to be more successful in their work life, but an opportunity for the whole community’s economy to flourish for the years ahead. Make your plans to be there.