The Ten Keys to Success at Job and Career Fairs

 

There are many types of job and career fairs -- from ones scheduled during Spring Break for college students to industry-specific ones for professionals -- but they all have one common theme: it's a chance for a company to meet and screen a large volume of potential job candidates. Whether you're a college student new to the job-hunting process or a seasoned professional, these ten strategies will improve your odds of not being screened out and should lead to a deeper level of satisfaction with your efforts and increase your chances of obtaining a second interview.

Keep in mind that career fairs should be just one small part of your entire job search process; however, they can be a successful part. Will these ten strategies guarantee you success? Of course not, but by following these strategies, you will be in position to strategically place yourself above many of the other job-seekers who are attending the fair.

The Ten Keys to Success:

1. Pre-register. Some career fairs allow job-seekers to pre-register for the event, which usually includes submitting a resume or summary resume. With more fairs going to the Web, pre-registration will most likely become even more common. The idea behind pre-registering, of course, is that employers get a chance to prescreen applicants and possibly make note of applicants they want to meet at the fair. Does pre-registration guarantee that you will get noticed or that employers will even look at the registrations? No, but why would you not take advantage of such an easy step?
2. Research. Many job-seekers go to fairs to "see the sights" and are not prepared to interview. You can get a huge jump on the competition by getting a list of the companies attending the fair and doing some research on each of the companies you want to interview with; don't waste time with companies that do not interest you. While all of the recruiters will have company literature at their booths at the fair, you often can't access those until after the interview. With so much information about companies on the Web, there is no excuse not to do your homework. A great site to help you with this strategy is our Guide to Researching Companies.
3. Resumes. Bring lots of resumes to the fair -- at least two for each company for which you have an interest. If you have multiple interests or job objectives, make sure you bring enough of each version of your resume. For tips on writing a traditional resume, visit these resume resources. You should also bring scannable versions of your resumes. More and more recruiters are simply bringing these collected stacks of resumes back to the corporate office and scanning them into a database. Need assistance with developing a scannable resume? Then visit these scannable resume fundamentals.
4. Portfolios. More and more career experts are emphasizing the importance of career portfolios. These portfolios should include copies of your resumes, a list of references, and samples of your best work. While most career fair interviews are fairly short, there may be opportunities for discussing your portfolio with a recruiter -- either over a short break or meal or during a second interview on-site. It is best to always be prepared no matter what happens. Read our article, Your Job Skills Portfolio: Giving You an Edge in the Marketplace.
5. Attire. Conservative business attire is essential, even for those Spring Break beachside career fairs because image and first impressions are critical. Know what is the expected attire of your profession and dress accordingly. It is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Read more in our Dress for Success section of Quintessential Careers.
6. Strategy. You need to devise a strategy or plan of attack for the fair. You've already done the first step by researching the companies you are interested in. The second step is seeing if any new companies have registered when you arrive at the fair. The third step is surveying the layout of the fair and determining an order of interviewing. Some experts suggest meeting with your top choices first thing in the morning, interviewing with your other choices in the middle of the day, and returning to your top choices at the end of the day to thank them again for their time. But remember to stay flexible as your top choices may be the top choices of many, creating long lines that you may wish to avoid.
7. Interviewing. You may only have two to five minutes to market yourself and protect yourself from being screened out, thus you need to make the most of your time. Many experts suggest that you develop a one-minute "commercial" that highlights the key benefits that you can offer the organization -- and then use it at the beginning of the interview. Also remember the three keys to all interviews: make eye contact, offer a firm handshake, and show enthusiasm. You should also prepare answers to interview questions just as you would any employment interview. The most common question you will face is something along the lines of "what are you here for today?" Seems like an easy question to answer, especially if you've done your homework and can tailor your answer to your interests and the company's interests, thereby marketing yourself. Make sure you also have some questions ready to ask the interviewer. A great concluding question for you to ask is, "What do I need to do to obtain a second interview with your firm?" Finally, make sure to avoid poor communication bad habits, such as fidgeting, rocking, chewing gum, etc. Follow this link for more interviewing tips and resources.
8. Intangibles. There are several other things you can do to help make your career fair experience a success. First, don't waste your time interviewing with companies you have no desire to work for; do make sure to interview with all the companies you do want to work for. Second, if you did not prepare for a company you want to interview for, try eavesdropping on several of the interviews ahead of you so you can better prepare; do also try to get some company literature from the booth before getting in line so you can read about the company while waiting; don't just stand in line doing nothing. Third, do extend common courtesies, such as offering to get the recruiter a beverage or snack; don't be upset if the recruiter has to take a break before your interview. Fourth, if your ideal company is hiring computer technicians and you want to work in accounting, do still interview with the company at the fair, being sure to leave the interview with the contact information of the person responsible for hiring in that area; don't be discouraged and walk away.
9. Networking. Career fairs are all about networking. Of course, you are building a network with the recruiters -- this task is your most vital. However, you can also network with your fellow job-seekers in terms of sharing information about job leads, companies, and their recruiting strategies and styles. There may also be professional organizations or employment agencies on hand at the fair, which are also good sources for networking. Learn more by visiting: The Art of Networking.
10. Follow-up. Don't take the order of this key to mean it to be the least important; in fact, some would say it is one of the most important. You would be surprised at how few job-seekers actually take the time to follow-up their career fair interviews, thus when you do it, you will get an edge over the many others who do not. There are two main methods of follow-up. Some experts suggest actually calling the recruiter the evening of the fair and leaving a voicemail message thanking the recruiter again for his/her time that day. A more concrete and traditional method is to write a thank you note and mail it the next day to the address on the recruiter's business card. In the letter, thank the recruiter for his/her time, restate your interest and qualifications for the position, reiterate your interest in a second interview, and make a promise to follow-up the letter with a phone call (and then make sure you do in fact call). You probably should enclose another copy of your resume to be sure. What should the letter look like? Here's a sample thank you letter to a career fair recruiter.

Going to a Job Fair? WHAT TO TAKE!!!

We're Going to a Job Fair and We're Going to Take.. 

Adapted from Employer Expectations of Students Attending Job Fairs by Amber Palomares, NACE Journal, Winter 2000.

Job fairs provide a great opportunity for you to meet employers who represent a wide range of industries, and in some instances, obtain interviews with them. If you make a favorable impression, you have the best chance of being invited to interview.

But what can you do to stand out in the crowd of college job seekers?

Employers attending "JobFest" at the University of South Carolina were asked about the characteristics of students who make a good impression-and those who make a bad (and lasting) impression.

Be Prepared for the Job Fair
Not all employers will conduct preliminary interviews at the job fair, but if you're serious about your job search, you should go prepared to talk to potential employers.

Research: More than a third of employers said they expect you to know something about their companies or organizations. To prepare for this, check your career center web site a couple of days before the job fair to see there is a list of attending companies-perhaps with links to the organizations' web sites. Look for flyers about the job fair that contain employers' web addresses. Ask for information on companies at your career center.

Dress to impress: To create a good first impression, you can't go wrong by dressing as if you are going to a job interview. Most employers reported that they consider business casual appropriate for job fairs-and many of the employers at JobFest were casually dressed. However, some employers said that a common mistake students make is "not being dressed professionally."

Take supporting documents: Upon request, you should be able to supply potential employers with the following:

Cover letter
Hard copy and/or scannable resume*
Reference letters*
Professional portfolio, including examples of work and accomplishments*
Transcript copy
Completed job application
*In general, only employers who conduct formal interviews at job fairs (21 to 27 percent) expect students to provide a scannable resume, reference letters, and a portfolio.

Meeting and Greeting
There's a certain etiquette practiced at job fairs. Making a mistake won't necessarily knock you out of the running for a job with an employer, but if your goal is to stand out from the crowd, you don't want a mistake to be the thing that makes your visit memorable. Here are some of the mistakes employers said students commonly make:

Saying, "I'll take anything" or "I don't know" when asked about interests shows a lack of focus. (Tip: Seek the expertise of career counselors at your career center or what you can do with your major.)
Dressing unprofessionally or in casual clothing.
Lacking a resume to leave with interested employers.
Confusing a company with its competitor or not knowing anything about a company.
Lacking enthusiasm or interest in a company or job opportunities.
Asking about salary.
Asking inappropriate questions, not asking questions, having a poor or unprofessional attitude. (Tip: Your career center probably has examples of good questions to ask.)
Grabbing free stuff.
Lacking communication skills, including not making eye contact and having a weak handshake.
Not being willing to relocate.
Some employers will expect you to complete their job applications while you are at the job fair, so be sure to bring information that may not be included on your resume. Information may include: addresses and telephone numbers of former employers; addresses and dates of attendance for high school and other schools; and contact information for references.

Follow-up From Your Fair Experience
Most employers said they follow up with students within two to four weeks after the job fair to request an interview. They also expect some kind of follow-up from you-a cover letter, phone call, or a completed job application-and may not extend an invitation to interview if you fail to take this initiative.

Time spent at a job fair pays off. It's your chance to see many of the career opportunities that are open to you and you may connect with potential employers who, ultimately, can offer you a job. If you make a favorable impression, you are more likely to be invited to interview.

 

Career fairs & job fairs-PREPARATIONS

How to prepare, what to do
On this page:
	Why go?
	Before you go
	At the job fair
	What if I'm not ready to look for a job?
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 have to be a business major to go to Business Horizons, and you don't 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 web site 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 web site. 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 web sites, 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 web site 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 and Education Expo; other fairs are sponsored by other colleges or departments). You'll see links to the web site for each fair (if there is one), 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 paper resumes 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 often online and the employer won't have access while speaking to you. Even if the employer has 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 would really like to learn more about this 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 web site 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 web site; 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).