Getting Noticed at Job Fairs
Standing out at a Job Faire 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 Silicon Valley Job Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 career faires scheduled for this year across the States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Fair? The competition can be significant, but you can help yourself stick out from the crowd with advance homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified step-by-step process to get ready. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the organizations that are going and pick your targets. Use the internet to research the organizations that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their web sites and see if they have their openings posted. Pick a tenable number to target, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than seven in a day, and 3-5 is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and exectuve names. 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 openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the nomenclature match. If the hiring organization calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring company.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each likely organization/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 position. 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 accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job prerequisites. 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 simple to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, 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 intelligibly labeled 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 cologne or fragrance meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
