Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your career search. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Silicon Valley Job Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for this year across the US.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Faire? The rivalry can be considerable, but you can help yourself jump out from the herd with early homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simple step-by-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the web to check out the companies that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their websites and see if they have their openings listed. Pick a small number to target, and get ready to spend up to an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 8 in a day, and four or five is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: key product lines, recent news, and executive names. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You should end up with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring manager is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the terminology match. If the hiring organization calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring company.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential company/position combination. Write down a 90 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a special candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job kiosk.
Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re targeting. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements and skills that most clearly match the job prerequisites. Especially at a Career Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be very easy to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be properly groomed. Don’t overdress (this isn’t a date!) and don’t underdress (no jeans or t-shirts, no matter how much you paid for them). Avoid strong cologne or perfume.
Finally, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each opportunity - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a intelligibly marked folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
