The Odette Job Fair held on March 4, 2026, brought students and industry leaders together, sparking conversations that could shape tomorrow’s success stories. (ANGELA KHARBOUTLI/University of Windsor)
By Victor Romao
More than 200 business students met face-to-face with employers at the 2026 Odette Job Fair on March 4, connecting with hiring organizations across finance, insurance, municipal government, healthcare and gaming.
Hosted by the Odette Student Success Centre, the fair featured 15 employers representing a wide range of industries. This year’s fair recorded 365 student registrations, with 213 attending — a 22.9 per cent increase in registrations over last year.
For many students, the fair was an opportunity to narrow their focus and explore roles aligned with their academic interests.
“The companies that stood out to me the most were those offering opportunities in the finance sector,” said Heba El-Hage, a business student who attended the fair. “Organizations like National Bank, TD Bank, WFCU Credit Union, Global Excel and BDC really caught my attention because they align closely with my academic background and career interests.”
Undergraduate business student Heba El‑Hage attended the 2026 Odette Job Fair on March 4, where she explored opportunities in finance and learned how organizations support professional growth and early‑career development. (ANGELA KHARBOUTLI/University of Windsor)
El-Hage said she was especially interested in learning how employers support professional growth and help students build analytical and client-focused skills.
Employers also shared insight into what they look for in early-career candidates — feedback students found especially valuable.
“Communication skills, teamwork and problem-solving abilities were mentioned consistently,” said El-Hage. “Employers also stressed the importance of internships, networking and extracurricular involvement to help students build real-world experience.”
For Ronak Doowd (BComm ’21, MBA ’22), Odette's career and employer relations advisor, the day marked the culmination of months of preparation.
“One of my first major projects was to plan and execute the job fair,” says Doowd. “Everything from securing employer participation and managing student registrations to marketing the event and booking the rooms.”
Odette career and employer relations advisor Ronak Doowd helped lead the planning and execution of the 2026 Odette Job Fair, one of her first major projects in the role. (ANGELA KHARBOUTLI/University of Windsor
Doowd also led targeted marketing efforts to boost awareness and organized virtual preparation sessions to help students get ready for the job fair. These sessions covered what to expect, which employers would be attending and how to confidently and intentionally approach employer conversations.
“The main goal of the event was to create opportunities for students who are seeking jobs or exploring different industries and career paths,” she says. “We invited students from across our programs, including MBA, Master of Management and B.Comm.”
She emphasized that a wide range of employer representation is essential to helping students explore options beyond the paths they may have first imagined.
“Having a range of industries represented was really important because it allowed students to explore different career paths and learn about opportunities they might not have previously considered,” says Doowd.
Securing employer participation, she noted, is a process grounded in relationship building. Each year, Odette begins by inviting past employer partners and community contacts who have previously expressed interest in engaging with students.
“We typically start by sending out an employer registration form to our existing employer partners,” says Doowd. “Thankfully, many of our employer partners really enjoy attending the job fair and actually look forward to it each year.”
According to Doowd, maintaining relationships throughout the year ensures employers see Odette not just as a school, but as an active partner in talent development.
“We’ve built strong relationships over time that help make the process smoother,” she says. “Feedback from both students and employers has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Employers reported strong conversations and promising leads, while students praised the accessibility of industry representatives and the chance to make connections.
For many students, the fair acts as both a confidence-building exercise and an early step in shaping their professional path. For Doowd, the greatest reward comes from seeing students leave with renewed excitement and occasionally with new prospects.
“The turnout created a really engaging environment where students were able to network directly with employers, learn about different organizations and discover new possibilities,” says Doowd.