Getting Noticed at Career Faires
Standing out at a Job Faire can make a difference in your job search. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Silicon Valley Career Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for 2010 across the United States.
How do you get to the real interviews at a Job Fair? The rivalry can be significant, but you can help yourself surpass from the bunch with advance homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified 6-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the internet to check out the companies that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their websites and see if they have their jobs listed. Pick a limited number to target, and get ready to spend about an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 8 in a day, and three or four is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, 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 organization is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the demands of the job. Make the nomenclature 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 company.
Third, create a ‘brief sales pitch’ for each likely company/job combination. Write down a sixty second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally showing why you are a key prospect for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job kiosk.
Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re aiming for. 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 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 a no-brainer 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 over do-it (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 opportunity – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a understandably marked folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
