Job Fairs

So I'm going to a job fair and I bring...

I have a couple of job fairs lined up for the summer. The first one is this Tuesday and that means I have to prepare for it.

I'm sure you're thinking "What? What do you do to prepare?" And that is many things... Well, not really many things so much as a few, very detailed things.

For one, you research all the companies that will be at the fair. And depending on how big the fair is, this can take anywhere from a half hour to 4 hours or more. If you have a target of exactly who you want to see at a fair [which I would recommend], then you want to research all those companies thoroughly and if possible, find out which representative is going to be at the fair. You want to know the company almost as well as the representative. If there is one thing I've learned from the interviews I've been on, it is that you NEED to know the company. It is a pretty consistent question and I remember it being asked during my internship interview as well.

One thing I'm doing to get through this is making a word document template. I have a list of all the companies who are currently going to be in attendance [courtesy of the job fair's website] and now I'm going to make a write up on each of those companies. The template includes basic information about the company [name, location, phone numbers, what do they do, what are they looking for, mission statement]. I probably won't be printing a copy of this because if I don't know the information, then... I don't know it. I will probably make some note cards to take with me on basic information of the company.

In another word document, I'm making a template for when I actually go to the fair. The information I'm putting on this is the name of the company, address, phone number[s], about the company [from the representative's perspective], any other notes from the fair, the representative/fair contact, fair contact's contact information, fair contact's title within the company.

Another thing you have to do is plan your outfit. You need to be dressed professionally and look like a pro. I've actually found it amusing when the people I recently interviewed with told me to make sure I dressed professionally. I thought that was kind of common sense but then again, maybe I'm crazy.

This means picking out what you are wearing before hand. You are making a first impression at this job fair, whether you like it or not. You can either be remembered as the professional or the slob. This means not only your clothes but your shoes, any accessories as well as your hair and makeup. Everything matters. There are lots of sites on the web that can tell you what would be appropriate , but I think this one should work well enough for you. Also, if you are attending a college/university or have attended one, your school's website probably has a list under the career services section [nearly all school offer this kind of service].

Other little tips I'm going to follow:

- If they have it, get a business card. It makes remember a person you met at the fair better. And now you have more direct contact information. I'd also recommend having a special place for these cards so as to not lose them.
- Possibly have my own business cards. While I wouldn't put my business title [Barista doesn't sound too professional for the field I want], I could put my contact information on it.
- After I met with a prospective employer, I'll be taking my time after to write down everything I can remember about that person on my fair template I mentioned earlier. I have a terrible memory, so hopefully this will help. During this, I will make a note of something specific we talked about.
- I'll narrow down the companies I want to visit from those I really want to talk with to those I should.

And of course, after the fair, I'll be sure to contact the person I met at the fair and thank him/her for the time taken to speak with me. Remember, being at these fairs can be just as tedious as for them as it can be for you. It is also a little reminder to the representative that you met him or her. These people meet tons of people at a career fair. This is where I put down the thing that I noted earlier that was specific. It will help this person put a face to a name.

Hope this is helpful and I'll post again after the fair with a recap of what I did right, what I did wrong, and what to do for the next fair [should I need to go to one].