- Preparing for a career fair means more than us pulling together your resume. It also means
- researching the organizations attending the fair,
- determining their hiring needs that meet your interests,
- and think critically about how you “match” based on sincere interest in the work they do, and skills/experiences you bring to the job.
- A good intro is more than just firing off a list of skills and projects, but should focus on making a CONNECTION with the person you meet, and the type of work done by their organization.
- Remember that you have to compel the representative to rate you highly or recommend following up with you. A good impression comes from a professional conversation about the work they do, and how it relates to your work in class/internship, etc. See these slides from my career fair small group for more info.
- If you know they’re going to tell you to apply online (and they will), go ahead & seek those opportunities to view what’s on their career page BEFORE the fair. Even if you don’t apply before the fair, you can speak directly to the position title, nature of work and requirements in your conversation.
- PREPARE QUESTIONS based on your research of their available jobs and internships, both about their work, the particular job, and the selection process (i.e. what happens after I apply online?)
- Enter the career fair with the right mindset. Your mission is to:
- GATHER INFORMATION and
- MAKE CONNECTIONS.
- Everyone can achieve success in a career fair if you prepare well before you attend.
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