Gruenhagen Conference Center will host its 32 annual Oshkosh Placement Exchange conference starting today, March 3 through March 6.
The Oshkosh Placement Exchange is a matchmaker event connecting job-seeking candidates from approximately 40 states with 157 colleges looking to hire new employees.
“Our main function is to serve as a higher education job fair specifically in the field of residence life and student housing,” said Director of Gruenhagen Center Marc Nylen.
The four-day conference includes three days of interviews, socials and a continental breakfast on the final day.
To help candidates relax in between interview sessions, OPE and Minority and Friends network will offer a jointly sponsored social event at the Oshkosh Convention Center on Saturday, March 5.
“The Social is an opportunity for candidates and employers to network, relax and recharge after a long day of interviews,” according to the OPE website.
Nylen said Oshkosh is very well known for the placement exchange, and several of the people who attend have been coming for 25 years or more.
The conference benefits not only jobseekers and employers but also the community of Oshkosh.
“Reeve Union is booked for the weekend, every available room in Gruenhagen is utilized for interviews and the guests stay in local hotels,” said Nylen. “So with 1,200 people descending upon the community, there is a significant economic impact.”
UW Oshkosh staff members and students play a significant role in the hosting the event.
Nylen said there is a steering committee made up of full-time professionals within the Residence Life department at UW Oshkosh who meet seven months out of the year to plan the event. Students help run the event, training how to recruit individuals. Students also take a significant role in the care of guests.
Conference guests have repeatedly said how much they enjoy UW Oshkosh students’ involvement in the conference.
“We do surveys every year to determine if we are doing well or if there things we need to improve on, and one of the shining star elements of the survey is ‘we loved the students, we’d love to hire your students,’” said Nylen.
Graduate Assistant Residence Hall Director Andrew Kopitzke obtained his current position at UW Oshkosh as well a full-time job at St. Norbert College right after graduation with help from the OPE.
“I am where I am today in my current position at UW-Oshkosh as a Graduate Assistant Residence Hall Director primarily because of OPE,” said Kopitzke. “I have many friends who after graduate struggled or are still struggling to attain a mutually fitting job that they enjoy.”
Kopitzke has been involved in the conference in all types of facets. He has been an interviewer twice, an interviewee (candidate) twice, and now he will be interviewing candidates as a UW Oshkosh staff member. Kopitzke added he is also on the Message Center Committee.
“For the cost, there’s no better job recruitment venue in the country,” said Kopitzke. “Where else can you reconnect with friends from all over the country, network with new peers, do a plethora of interviews in a convenient manner, and attain mutually fitting jobs? OPE is amazing.”
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