The Career Fair Guide

Career fairs are like rodeos – exciting, a bit nerve-wracking, and full of opportunities to show off your skills! Luckily, most colleges, trade schools, and even certain cities’ Chamber of Commerce host multiple career fairs throughout the year, allowing you to begin planning for your future! But there’s more to career fairs than just showing up and handing out resumes. It’s networking, planning for your future, and creating a professional reputation for yourself that employers will be vying for!

In this blog post, we’re preparing you to head into your next career fair ready to make the best impression possible!

Preparing for the Career Fair

• Research the Attending Companies

Before you walk through those career fair doors, you want to know what companies will be there. Usually, whoever is hosting the career fair will have this list available to you. You will want to research the companies attending to see if the opportunities they have available are interesting to you! You can learn so much about them by visiting their websites and checking any social media accounts they have. This allows you to put together a list of questions for each of the representatives that will be attending from the companies you have an interest in!

• Updating Your Resume

It’s very important to have a few copies of your resume that is updated! You will also want to tailor your resume to the types of opportunities you are looking for. Whether that is an internship or full-time job, highlight your skills and various experiences to make yourself appealing for those positions. Extra tip, check, and double-check your resume for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors! We’ve got a full blog post on how to create a standout resume, here, that will walk you through everything you need to include!

• Prepare Your Elevator Pitch

These recruiters and representatives of the attending companies will be meeting with hundreds of potential employees all day long, so you want to make yourself stand out! Prepare a 30-second elevator pitch introducing yourself, highlighting your interests and strengths, and letting them know what kind of opportunity you are looking for. You want to make sure you are shaking their hand, looking them in the eye when speaking, and having professional and welcoming body language!

At the Career Fair

• What to Wear

What you’re wearing is very important. Think about it, when you meet these companies for the first time their first impression of you is you walking up and they see what you’re wearing. You don’t have to show up in any formal, black-tie attire, but you most definitely want to be in business casual or professional attire. A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t wear it to church, it’s probably not something you’d want to wear to a business interview!

• Navigating the Fair

This is where that company research is going to come in handy, because you will want to ensure you visit the companies that you are most interested in. It will be easy to get distracted and caught up in everything that is going on, but have a plan of which companies are the most important for you to visit and make sure you hit those first. Also, be patient! The representatives from these companies will be talking to hundreds of people all day, so you may have to wait a few moments before getting to speak to them. 

• Engage with Recruiters/Companies

When you are engaging with the representatives, be confident! We know that’s easy to say and a lot harder to do, but remember to have confidence in yourself, your skills, and what you have to offer. If you prepare questions ahead of time, this will help ensure you engage in meaningful conversations and your nerves don’t get in the way! After each conversation, keep notes in your phone about who you talked to, anything pertinent you need to remember and anything from your conversation you want to be able to recall. 

• Collect Contact Information

Once you are done with your conversation, make sure you ask for a business card and any contact information so you are able to follow up with them after the career fair. This is where you will also want to utilize LinkedIn and connect with those you met on the platform. 

After the Career Fair

• Follow Up

Something that will make a great impression is sending thank you emails to those you met with. Thank them for their time, their insight into their company and the opportunities they have available. And a good tip is to mention something specific from your conversation so that your email stands out and they are able to recall your conversation easier!

• Apply to Internships/Jobs

If they mentioned anything about job openings or internship opportunities, and if those applications are available, make sure to apply if you’re interested! They are more apt to remember an applicant who they just met vs. if you wait!

Attending career fairs is a fantastic opportunity to explore future careers possibilities and grow your network of potential future employers! With preparation and a proactive approach, you can make lasting impressions and find opportunities that align with your career aspirations. Good luck!!