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Students Earn Careers
RMU AIMS FOR TARGET By Ricahrd Connolly It is hardly worth reporting that finding a job is difficult right now. With a nationwide unemployment rate of 7.8%, and 9.1% in Illinois alone; this is the last news that any college students or recent grads want to hear. In today's tough job market, Robert Morris is stepping up and taking any action they can to get their students in the work force, including classes focused on personal branding, hosting job fairs and the online CareerConnect service. With the new City Target recently opening its doors this July, RMU's Senior Career Services Advisor, Silvia Arnold seized the opportunity to add some maroon and gold into the ranks
of the Target family. Many students who were enrolled within the last few months may recall seeing announcements about Target hiring for its City Target location at State and Madison, and just a few months later for the Chicago West Loop location. The job fairs, which were hosted in the 3rd floor Eagle's Nest at the Chicago campus, brought in a large crowd with hundreds of applicants interviewing to fill one of over 500 positions. From there, Target made their selections based on who would be best suited, and now many RMU students find themselves working for the quickly expanding Fortune 500 Company. Recent RMU Business Management grad-
Photo by Richard Connolly In Photo: Maribel, Martrel, Rebecca, Hector, Brittany, Ebony
uate Hector Massini is now a team leader at the State and Madison Target store. Prior to his new position, he had been working with another retailer, but after completing his degree in June and putting his resume out, he was immediately contacted by Target. Now working in a leadership role, Massini attributes his success to the skills he gained while in college. "A lot of the skills I learned at Robert Morris, I am using in my current position at Target," he says, "I am able to apply many of the strengths I developed at RMU to my responsibilities on the job. I feel my degree is certainly put to work." For current students, Massini recommends to, "Take everything seriously and use all the
resources given to you at RMU," and "‌don't be afraid to start off lower than you expect and work you're way up; there's plenty of room for growth." Although it can be a difficult time to look for a job, Massini is just one example of how applying the skills and resources available in college can result in a solid career with enormous potential. It may be a long time before employment rates return to a favorable level, but the cooperation between RMU and Target is just one example of how to take advantage of every opportunity while in school. Having caring faculty members like Silvia Arnold in career services certainly doesn't hurt the chances of finding a job either. v