Most know what a job fair might look like, but Reeltown had a little different formatting for its fair.
A couple of weeks, several juniors created tri-fold boards about themselves to display for mock employers. Each employer went up and asked follow-up questions about their career aspirations to see if they had a good match within their company.
Tallapoosa County School career coach Dawn Smith said the project started from a career assessment test. The assessment helped students see what possible careers might align well with the students’ personalities.
Smith then had the students research the different careers that fit their characteristics. They created a resume and an elevator pitch. It was going to wrap up there, but the teacher Smith was working with suggested they make it more project-based.
Together, they pulled together the reverse career fair. Smith said this helped make the process a little more hands-on and interactive. On the tri-fold boards, the left side was the assessment results and career research, the middle was their resume and elevator pitch and then the right side was images that showed what life they want to have.
After the fair, 4-H agent Trent Carboni also gave a presentation called “Your Money Your Life” to put into perspective the cost of living from rent to groceries to paying bills.