| Career fairs &
job fairs |
|
Career
& job fairs list, with links to each event's web site |
|
|
| How to prepare, what to do |
| On this page: |
|
Should I go? |
|
Why
go? |
|
Before
you go |
|
At
the job fair |
|
What if I'm not ready to
look for a job? |
|
|
| |
|
| Should I go to a career fair? |
| • |
View each career fair website, read about attending employers. Not all are companies; some are government agencies; some are non-profits. Determine if any match your career interests. If even one does, go! The employment world is not divided by major or college, and not all types of employers attend career fairs. Many varied ones do! Research each in advance. |
| |
| Why go? |
| • |
To make a good (or great) impression
in person (especially important if your resume doesn't necessarily
stand out from the crowd). |
| • |
To see that the real world is not organized
by major: you don't necessarily have to be a business major to go to Business
Horizons, and you don't necessarily have to be an engineering major to go to
Engineering Expo. You DO have to look at the list of employers attending
in advance (see each fair's website linked from the career
/ job fair list), and see what kinds of jobs each employer has. |
| • |
To learn more about employers than
you can learn from their website. You learn about the culture of
an organization when you meet their people, and you can ask questions. |
| • |
Much of the job search process —
before you can even get an interview — for both you, the job
seeker, and for the employer in trying to find good candidates,
is not done in person. It involves employers screening resumes and
cover letters, and you reading about employers and viewing their
websites, and the like. Take advantage of opportunities to meet
employers face-to-face. |
| • |
Some fairs include follow-up interviewing
as part of the fair, for a full or half day. Each fair's website
should tell you if they do this. |
| • |
Some of the employers who attend career
fairs also participate in the On-Campus
Interviewing Program. Meeting students in person at fairs gives
them another way of screening candidates besides just the resume
you submit for On-Campus Interviewing. |
| • |
Regardless of the extent to which technology
makes it easier and faster to share information between job seekers
and employers, nothing replaces in-person contact for making an
impression. |
| • |
To be effective at a career fair, you
need to be ready to make a good impression in person (just as you
will be evaluating organizations by the way their representatives
behave in person). To do this... |
|
|
| |
|
| Before you go |
| • |
Know which employers are attending.
See the career
fair / job fair list. The sponsor of each fair is listed
(Career Services sponsors Connection Co-op & Internship Fair; other fairs are sponsored by other colleges
or departments or student organizations). You'll see links to the website for each fair, and you should find a list of the attending employers
with other relevant information — like positions for which
they are hiring and majors sought. If there's no information within
a month of the fair, contact the sponsor and ask. |
| • |
Go to any fair where the employers
and their jobs interest you, regardless of your major and who
is sponsoring the fair. (You don't have to be in the college that
is sponsoring the fair; just see if the employers attending are
looking for people with your background or interests.) |
| • |
Do enough research to make
"A" &"B" lists of employers to meet.
Depending on the fair and how many employers interest you, you might not have time to speak with every
employer (and every employer may not be offering what you seek).
You don't need to study employers' financial reports to prepare,
but you do need to have some sense of what the organization does,
and if there is a fit between your skills and interests and the
employer's needs. Also, if you're looking for more than one type
of job — like technical sales or production management —
you'll need to know which employers are looking for what so you
can give each employer an appropriate resume.... |
| • |
Have plenty
of copies of your resume ready. You might need to prepare more
than one version.
Always take print copies of your resume to a career / job fair, even if you submitted
your resume in advance to a resume book for the fair. (Job fair resume
books are usually online, and the employer won't have access while
speaking to you. Even if the employer had a print resume book in
hand, she won't waste time looking up your resume on the spot.)
And if you're looking for more than one type of position, each being
significantly different (like marketing or human resources), you
may need two different versions of your resume, each tailored to
support the different objective. This doesn't mean you need an individualized
resume for each employer at a fair. It simply means when you speak
to an employer and say you're interested in a certain kind of work,
don't hand the employer a resume that has nothing to do with that
kind of work. (Nothing wrong with an employer giving you a new idea
on the spot — be flexible and respond appropriately.) |
| • |
Be prepared that some employers cannot
accept hard copy resumes and will ask you to apply online. This
is to comply with federal regulations about the way employers keep
data on applicants.
February 2006 federal regulations had an impact on employers, online
job hunters, and how status as a job candidate is determined. In
order to comply with these regulations, many employers are requiring
all job applicants to apply for jobs online on the employer's web
site.
This does not mean the employer is giving you the brush-off, and
it does not mean the employer is wasting time by attending the fair
and talking with you. The employer reps may well be taking note
of candidates — you and others — in whom they are interested,
but they have to follow certain procedures to comply with law. |
|
See more about this at on CNN Money.com:
Job
hunting online gets trickier February 6, 2006
(Link leaves Career Services web site;
opens in a new browser window.) |
| • |
Prepare a
20 to 30 second introduction to use with employers. You
don't want to sound like a telephone solicitor reading a script;
you do want to sound like you thought about why you're there. It
might be something like, "Hello. I'm Daria Henderson, a junior
in Communication Studies and Marketing. I'm looking for an internship
related to marketing for next summer. I read on your web site that
(name of company) has an internship program in your corporate marketing
department, and I've done some project work that I believe is related to the internship work. I'm very interested in your program."
Get the idea? Keep in mind that some employer representatives may
take control of the conversation quickly and you may do more listening
than speaking, but you do want to be prepared to be proactive rather
than passive. |
| • |
Know the dress code.
Each fair has its own styles and traditions. Some are business
casual; some suggest or require interview
attire. (Club/date attire is not appropriate.) Again, see what the fair sponsor says about attire on
their website or other promotional materials. If they don't tell,
contact the fair sponsor and ask. |
|
|
| |
|
| At the career / job fair |
| • |
Watch your manners and mannerisms
— all those things your parents drilled into you when you were
a child (and a few more). Stand up straight, don't hang your mouth
open, don't fidget, do speak up and speak clearly, don't chew gum
or smell like smoke. Have a good handshake and make good eye contact. |
| • |
Don't be misled into thinking
of the fair as a social event. Employers often send recently-hired new graduates to career fairs. Don't fall into the mistake
of interacting on a social level and forgetting that you are being
judged on your potential to function in the work environment. |
| • |
Carry a simple padfolio to
keep your resumes organized and ready. Some fairs have
you check your bags at the door because the event is crowded. Be
ready to hand employers the appropriate resume (see You
might need to prepare more than one version, above). Be prepared
for employers to give you literature and give-away items (pens,
cups, t-shirts, etc.) — this is typical at fairs (sometimes
they give you a bag to carry the give-aways). Bottom line is that
you want to look like an organized person because that's an asset
in an employee. |
| • |
Have an open mind.
You may have 12 employers on your target list to speak with. If
you have extra time, or have to wait to speak with an employer,
take advantage of the opportunity to chat with other employers who
aren't busy. You might learn something to your advantage to your
surprise. At the least, you'll be practicing initiating a conversation
in a less formal business environment — and this is an essential
skill in any work environment. |
| • |
This is your opportunity to
be evaluated on more than just your resume. In many aspects
of the job search, your resume (and cover letter) is (are) all the
employer sees to determine whether to interview you. At a fair,
you have an opportunity to stand out in person in a way that you
might not on your resume. Interpersonal skills, communication skills
and work-place-appropriate social skills are critical. Many employers evaluate
these skills heavily, because they want to hire people who can make
a good impression on their clients and customers. |
| • |
Handshakes are critical. Excellent
article on this topic:
CampusCareerCenter.com
> students
> Ask
the Expert > Get
a Grip: Handshaking 101
(Links leave Career Services website;
open in a new browser window.) |
|
|
| |
|
| What if I'm not ready to look
for a job? |
| • |
Go to learn more about jobs.
Employers are impressed when freshmen and sophomores introduce
themselves at career fairs. Part of the point is to learn more about
what employers have to offer. Fairs are rare opportunities to talk
with lots of people and learn about jobs straight from the source. |
| • |
You still need to do some research
(see before
you go, above) and have good interpersonal skills (see
at the job fair, above).
The difference is that your goal is to get career information, not
get a job (yet). |
| |
|
| More advice from other sources on career fair prep: |
| • |
Get the most out of... career expo
Advice on the website of Women For Hire, a certified Women’s Business Enterprise established in 1999 that sponsors city-based career fairs in ten major cities nationwide.
Article quote:
Conduct thorough research. Recruiters are not impressed by jobseekers who approach their booth and ask, "What does your company do?" or "What are you hiring for?" |
| • |
Navigating a career fair
On Graduating Engineer website. |
| • |
Making the Most of a Job Fair
On EmploymentGuide.com. |
