Business leaders and business hopefuls are betting on success at this year’s American Marketing Association Main Event.
The event — which will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Gerlinger Lounge — is a casino night designed to match up aspiring students with potential employers.
Slated for the same day as the University Career Fair, the Main Event offers live jazz by the University School of Music, appetizers and casino games including blackjack, craps and poker. Admission is free.
“This is not just a career event,” University AMA Chapter President Mei Huang said. “It’s a good way to have fun and talk to people in a relaxed environment.”
The AMA is an association designed to familiarize students with the marketing field and with the career opportunities that await them. Association members learn about careers in marketing through speakers and workshops scheduled throughout the year.
Following a five-year tradition of linking students and employers, the evening offers a chance for companies interested in hiring to meet with students looking for a job or an internship.
While in the past it has drawn mostly from a pool of junior and senior business students, the aim of this year’s activity was to reach a broader audience, AMA Main Event Coordinator Claudia Ciobanu said.
“This isn’t just for business majors,” she said. Ciobanu said the mixer is now aimed at students in all the professional schools as well as any other students hoping to make connections that can serve them in the future. In past years, Ciobanu said the event has been a success.
“Everyone was a winner,” she said. “Some won prizes. Some scheduled interviews.”
AMA Professional Liaison Derek Weber also saw the benefits. Two of his peers made career connections through the Main Event, he said. Weber advised students attending the activity to bring a résumé for the recruiters and to dress professionally. While the event is designed as a social, its main purpose is still for business.
“(The recruiters) know they’re at the event to meet people,” Weber said. “But they also know they’re here to have fun.”
Recruiters from more than a dozen companies in advertising, public relations and management, including Main Event corporate sponsor Meier & Frank as well as American Express and Fred Meyer, are scheduled to attend. While results vary from year to year, AMA members are optimistic about this year’s turnout.
“If only a couple of people get interviews,” junior AMA member Tim Germer said, “that’s the whole point.”
E-mail reporter Robin Weber at [email protected].