How to Stick out at Career Faires
Standing out at a Job Faire can make a difference in your job hunting. Career Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Faire in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for this year across the States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Faire? The rivalry can be substantial, but you can help yourself stick out from the crowd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple six-step process to get ready. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the web to research the companies that are there ahead of time. Go to their internet sites and see if they have their openings posted. Pick a small number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than eight in a day, and three to five is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and exectuve 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 company is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the terminology match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The accomplishments should be written in the style of the hiring organization.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential organization/job combination. Write down a ninety second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud depicting why you are a key candidate for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re going after. 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 requirements. Especially at a Career Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be quick to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.
Fifth, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each position – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a intelligibly labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be well groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any cologne or fragrance sparingly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
