Getting Noticed at Career Fairs
Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your job search. Job Faires are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a San Jose Area Job Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job fairs scheduled for 2010 across the States.
How do you compete at a Job Fair? The rivalry can be substantial, but you can help yourself jump out from the crowd with advance planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple step-by-step process to get ready. Plan 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 beforehand. Go to their web sites and see if they have their openings posted. 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 10 in a day, and 3-5 is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, you want to know: executive names, recent news, and key product lines. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with 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 ‘short sales pitch’ for each potential organization/position combination. Write down a 90 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud describing why you are a good candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the company at the job stall.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. 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 accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job description. 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 simple to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, practice 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 distinctly tagged 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 eau de cologne or fragrance sparingly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
