For marketing students at Grand Valley State University, learning what a consumer wants and finding creative ways to meet those needs is integral to their studies. While studying various elements of marketing is one thing, finding a job and applying those skills to a real-world setting is another.

In order to highlight potential career paths for marketing students, GVSU’s Seidman College of Business marketing department partnered with GVSU’s American Marketing Association (AMA) for a “Marketing Career Night” Monday, Oct. 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Held at the Loosemore Forum in the L. William Seidman Center, there were about 75 to 80 students that attended the event and met with 24 companies and the marketing professionals representing them.

From meeting with various local and international businesses – including the Grand Rapids Griffins and Ranir LLC – students switched from each business’ table every 15 minutes in order to learn about various marketing careers and learn about potential internship opportunities.

Maria Landon, a GVSU affiliate marketing professor, said the career night allows students to network with potential employers, ask questions and gain tips for writing a resume or getting that second interview.

“The purpose is for career exploration,” she said. “Marketing has a lot of options, it’s a broad field.”

Emphasizing how students who major in marketing have a broad range of career options, which ranges from working with social media to research and project development, she said the event is a way for students to understand what it means to have a full-time marketing position in an organization.

“It’s not a career fair, they’re not asking for a job, but for tips to see what they can do with a marketing degree in their organization,” she said. “I also told my students that they could bring their resume and ask the person if they would mind to look at it later so they could provide feedback.”

Cecil Johnson, a GVSU alumnus and the university relations manager at Quicken Loans, said being able to talk to students about Quicken Loans internship opportunities is a wonderful opportunity to meet with GVSU students and talk about marketing careers within the company.

Being a GVSU alumnus, he said, he is happy to come back to an event like GVSU’s “Marketing Career Night” as an employer helping individuals find jobs, as he understands the struggle of trying to find a job immediately after graduation.

“Finding jobs is a tough obstacle to overcome after graduation,” he said. “I’m glad that I’m able to help individuals cross that bridge to find their future career path.”

Providing an opportunity to engage and meet with local and international members of the Grand Rapids community, the marketing career night is a time for students to engage with various organizations and companies in a business setting and gain insight into becoming a marketing professional.

“The opportunities that are available within marketing, which can be from a very small local company to a huge global organization, will feel very different,” said Megan Riksen, assistant director of the GVSU Career Center. “It’s really great to expose students to the whole spectrum of their field.”