UTRGV Career Center to host Virtual Career Expo Oct. 1

By Amanda A. Taylor

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – SEPT. 18, 2020 – Among the most highly attended expos at UTRGV are Career Expos, which attract employers seeking to hire UTRGV students and alumni for internships and careers.

This year, the expo is going digital, to follow all social distancing guidelines for safety due to COVID-19.

The Fall 2020 Virtual Career Expo, hosted by the UTRGV Career Center, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

Ronnie Garcia, assistant director for Employer Relations, said the Expo virtual format is a wonderful resource for students and alumni seeking job opportunities.

“The Fall Virtual Career Expo keeps our students and employers safe from the current pandemic,” Garcia said. “The UTRGV Career Center wants to create opportunities for students while safeguarding all parties involved. The Fall Virtual Career Expo has employers hiring students for jobs, internships and careers.”

Students and alumni can expect participating employers from the area, state and around the country to provide information at the Expo about their organizations and the opportunities available.

The event welcomes all students, from freshmen to seniors, master’s students and alumni, to apply for potential career opportunities.

While the event is digital, participants are encouraged to be professional at the expo and treat it as if it were an in-person event.

“The Fall Virtual Career Expo allows for 1-to-1 (video and/or chat) meetings between the recruiter and applicant,” Garcia said. “We want to remind students to dress appropriately, and upload their resume,” Garcia said.

“The recruiter will be able to see the applicants’ resume on their side of the screen as they communicate with the applicant. Students can select to be on the waiting list for multiple virtual booths to speak to a recruiter,” he said. The portal will allow them to speak to the first available recruiter, and applicants will not lose their place in line for the other virtual booths they requested.”

Employers registered for the Expo include 3M, Walmart Corporate, Cemex, SpaceX, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, Ernst & Young LLP (EY), Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Teach for America, Peace Corps and many more.

The Expo has always proved successful for many participants. For example, during the Spring 2020 Expo, the U.S. Department of Agriculture held on-the-spot interviews and offers for national opportunities.

“The recruiters helped students with their application and scheduled afternoon interviews,” Garcia said of last year’s event. “Although it’s rare for organizations to provide on-spot hiring, the USDA did obtain clearance to have this unique event at UTRGV.”

ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.