Chamber wants to keep college grads in state

BYLINE: Paul Monies, Business Writer

After spending more than two hours talking to prospective employers Tuesday afternoon, Ivan Valkov had just one request for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.

"This is a good thing - it should be more often," said Valkov, a finance student at Oklahoma City University.

Valkov, who will graduate in December, joined hundreds of other job seekers at the Cox Convention Center for the chamber's second "Greater Grads" career fair. The event featured more than 120 local employers, all of them interested in keeping more of the state's graduating students in Oklahoma.

Last year's fair, which had a mock Bricktown canal and water taxi, attracted 1,200 students.

Cynthia Reid, the chamber's vice president of marketing and communications, said organizers were hoping for up to 2,000 students this year.

"The main complaint last year was it was too loud," Reid said. "We've taken some of the flash out of it, but we still have the large projection screen showing our relocation video.

"We want to remind them that Oklahoma City is a great place to live."

Te'Sha Johnson is just the kind of student that chamber officials hope to sway on the merits of staying in Oklahoma. The Langston University graduate spent about 2 1/2 hours talking to employers about management positions.

"There was a lot of diversity in the companies here," Johnson said. "We want to stay here, it's just that Oklahoma doesn't pay as well. It seems like companies in other states pay more, but it depends on the field you're looking at."

Texas is the top destination for many of Roger Moore's fellow students at Oklahoma State University. Moore, who graduated in December with a marketing degree, said he's still undecided on where he wants to work.

"I'm pretty open," he said. "Coming out of college, you have the world at your fingertips. But I understand the importance of keeping Oklahoma graduates here to help grow the economy."

Roy Williams, the chamber's president and chief executive officer, said employers at the career fair have been impressed with the caliber of students looking for jobs and internships. Students, meanwhile, leave the fair with a new perception of what jobs are available in central Oklahoma, he said.

Lisa Parkman with Cole & Reed PC, a certified public accountant firm in Oklahoma City, said the career fair was a good opportunity to meet students and prospective employees. She was particularly impressed by one student who was about to graduate from high school.

"I was a little shocked to see that, but it's good to see students thinking that far ahead about their future," said Parkman, whose firm employs 70 people in Oklahoma City.

Among the scores of companies looking for employees was Best Buy, which is opening two new stores in the Oklahoma City area. Recruiters Matt Cecil and Laura Pankievich were putting out the word that more than part-time jobs were available at the retailer.

"The biggest interest has been in the Geek Squad," said Cecil, referring to the company's computer and technology troubleshooting service.

"A lot of people see Best Buy as just retail, but each store operates every aspect of the business, from payroll to shipping. All the support functions are within the building."

Pankievich, meanwhile, was encouraging female job seekers to look into Best Buy's initiative for management mentoring, dubbed the Women of Leadership Forum.

"It's a good way for women to know they have people to look up to when they start their careers," said Pankievich, who noted that women buy more than half of all consumer electronics.

"WOLF is a good thing to help more women get into general manager, district manger and corporate positions."

Williams said the career fair is just part of the chamber's effort to attract and retain the state's college graduates. It also wants to encourage more employers to offer internships as a path to hiring, Williams said. A select group of local interns are invited each summer to the chamber's seminars about the benefits of living and working in Oklahoma City.

"We want to immerse these interns into what's happening in Oklahoma City - culture, recreation, housing and jobs," Williams said.

"We want these people to get acclimated to the community so they'll be less likely to leave."

Paul Monies: 475-3730, pmonies@oklahoman.com