Getting Noticed at Job Fairs
Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your search. Job Faires are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 career fairs scheduled for 2010 across the United States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Fair? The rivalry can be considerable, but you can help yourself surpass from the herd with advance planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple six-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the organizations that are going and pick your objectives. Use the web to research the companies that are there ahead of time. Go to their websites and see if they have their jobs listed. Pick a sane number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 9 in a day, and four to 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 company is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the prerequisites of the job. Make the language match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring organization.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential company/job combination. Write down a sixty second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a fantastic prospect for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re want. 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 Job Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious 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 spot – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a understandably tagged folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or perfume meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
