Booths lined the Student Experience Center Plaza on Oct. 1, 2025 for the annual part-time job fair.
Despite the rainy weather, hordes of students moved from booth to booth with their resumes in hand, while local employers greeted them with flyers and applications to join their team.
Each fall, the Career Development Center hosts the part-time job fair, offering both new and returning students the opportunity to connect. These connections come from various businesses throughout Corvallis and Albany.
“I like the on-campus options, just because I feel like with my schedule, that’ll work the best, just because I’m trying to balance everything as a first year here” said Anna Roddy, a first year student at Oregon State University.
Roddy mentioned that for many students, the job fair is an opportunity to explore part-time work while also prioritizing their academic goals.
This year the job fair hosted sixteen employers including restaurants, non-profits, on-campus jobs, and a variety of other local businesses.
“I think this is a great low stakes way for students to start interacting with employers and in a way that helps them develop those networking skills, and also helps them learn that it’s not so scary,” said Elizabeth Simmon, the senior director of the Career and Development Center.
The Old Spaghetti Factory, located in Corvallis, was among some of the businesses in attendance. Raelyn Yearout the general manager, and Billy Brown the district manager greeted students as they came forward with resumes.
Brown mentioned the importance of preparation, advising students to “research the job you’re applying for.”
Brown also spoke on the company’s long standing presence in the community. “We’ve been here for 11 years. So we have a great relationship with OSU.”
Yearout mentioned a piece of advice for students: be familiar with the menu. “Know what your favorite entree is,” Yearout said.
Ashley Slicton, a second year at OSU, said that the fair could help students become aware of what part-time jobs were available to them on and off campus, but emphasized that it is also a good idea for students to also continue to do research on their own.
As students rushed in and out of the fair collecting flyers and business cards, representatives, such as Mckenzie Gorsuch from the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis, expressed gratitude for the chance to meet potential new hires.
While the whole event may only last a few hours, the opportunities students are connected to could welcome experiences that help them well into their future careers and endeavors.
Simmon said, “I hope that [students] walk away with a little bit of an understanding about how many different kinds of opportunities they have access to and feel a little bit more confident in maybe submitting an application they weren’t sure if they were going to do.”
