EOU Career Expo Connects La Grande Students With Regional Employers April 1

Regional employers filled Eastern Oregon University's Field House in La Grande on Wednesday for the annual Career Expo, a free workforce matchmaking event that connected job-seekers with hiring organizations across northeastern Oregon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Expo, organized through a three-way partnership between WorkSource Oregon, the Eastern Oregon Workforce Board, and EOU's Career Services Department, brought together employers offering part-time, seasonal, internship, and full-time positions. Sectors on the floor spanned seasonal recreation and tourism, school district staffing, healthcare support, light manufacturing, and positions with regional nonprofits and public agencies, the employer categories that together form the backbone of Union County's job market.

New this year, EOU added an Online Access Station, managed by the Enrollment Support Services Department, that allowed online students to participate remotely from noon to 2 p.m. The addition reflects a practical reality at EOU: many enrolled students are geographically dispersed across the region and cannot easily reach the La Grande campus on a weekday. Extending the event virtually widened the candidate pool available to employers and opened the hiring pipeline to students who would otherwise have had no presence at the event.

The Expo was free to attend, and EOU waived parking pass requirements during event hours, removing a small but real barrier for residents commuting from Cove, Elgin, Union, or further out in the northeastern Oregon corridor.

For employers, the format condensed what would otherwise be weeks of recruiting outreach into a single afternoon. Hiring managers could discuss qualifications, required certifications, seasonal schedules, and schedule flexibility with dozens of candidates at individual tables. For students balancing coursework with financial need, those conversations clarify in minutes what a job posting cannot: whether an employer will work around a Tuesday-Thursday class schedule, whether a commercial driver's license is required before or after hiring, and when a seasonal position converts to year-round.

Attendees were encouraged to bring multiple resume copies and treat each booth as a brief professional interview. The Career Expo is not limited to enrolled students. Recent graduates still deciding whether to build a career in the region, Union County residents changing industries, and workers returning to northeastern Oregon all attended alongside current Mounties. For that group, the employer mix on the floor served as a concrete measure of which sectors are actively recruiting in spring 2026 and under what terms.

Information on participating employers and post-event resources is available through EOU's Career and Professional Development office on campus.