How to Succeed at Career Fairs
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Standing out at a Job 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 SF Bay Area Career Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career faires scheduled for this year across the States.
How do you stand out at a Career Fair? The rivalry can be considerable, but you can help yourself leap out from the crowd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified six-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the organizations 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 web sites and see if they have their openings listed. Pick a moderate number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than nine in a day, and five or six is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring company, 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 postings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the demands 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 ‘brief sales pitch’ for each potential company/job combination. Write down a ninety second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a fantastic candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job 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 prerequisites. Especially at a Job Fair, 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 fit based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly 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 spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a clearly marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
Posted in Great Marketing Tips, Hall Of Management, Misc Stuff |
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