Get the most out of the job fair
by KEITH POWELL
You’ve heard enough from everyone to know that you probably should attend this year’s job fair.
You decide to attend, print 30 copies of your resume, practice your handshake and press your interview suit. Now what? Here are a few pointers gleaned from recruiters who attend job fairs. Listen up!
1. Before printing multiple copies of your resume, have others proofread it for typos. Recruiters hate those! We’ll question your work ethic if you hand in a poorly written resume filled with mistakes. Remember, substance is the key. We know what we’re looking for. Your job, at this point, is to get through our first round of screening. For that, you need a solid, well-written resume.
2. Stay away from creative euphemistic phrases. Resist the temptation to stray from the normal, scannable resume format.
3. Take time before the job fair to find out which companies will be represented there. If you don’t, at least read the career fair handout the day of the fair to learn about participating companies and organizations. It’s okay to ask pertinent questions, but don’t expect the recruiters to do the work for you.
4. Have a game plan and focus on no more than three companies you are truly interested in. Do a little research so that you can have an intelligent comment about the companies you are approaching.
5. Prepare a two- to three-line script for yourself. This part is tricky. You should try to impress recruiters within the first few minutes of conversation. The problem is that others will also be trying to talk with those recruiters and if you talk too long you’ll create a bottleneck in the flow of traffic.
Maintain good eye contact and offer a firm handshake and a few sentences telling them what they want to know. That’s the formula that works.
6. Tell the recruiter your name, your class year and whether you’re interested in a full-time, co-op, or internship position. Follow with your career interest, your major(s), and finally, why you came to the company’s table.
7. Don’t ask the recruiter personal questions. Such questions sound frivolous.
8. When you give a recruiter your resume, ask what the next step in the process is. Recruiters worth their weight will be able to tell you. Still, don’t be surprised if recruiters don’t hand out their personal business cards.
All the best in travelling the career fair path.
Adapted from “How to Attack a Career Fair,” which appeared on the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Operation Native Talent Job Fair web site, www.gpcc.com.
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