Should I go to a career fair?
View each career fair website, read about attending employers. Not all are companies; some are government agencies; some are non-profits. Determine if any match your career interests. If even one does, go! The employment world is not divided by major or college, and not all types of employers attend career fairs. Many varied ones do! Research each in advance.
Why go?
To make a good (or great) impression in person (especially important if your resume doesn't necessarily stand out from the crowd).
To see that the real world is not organized by major: you don't necessarily have to be a business major to go to Business Horizons, and you don't necessarily have to be an engineering major to go to Engineering Expo. You DO have to look at the list of employers attending in advance (see each fair's website linked from the career / job fair list), and see what kinds of jobs each employer has.
To learn more about employers than you can learn from their website. You learn about the culture of an organization when you meet their people, and you can ask questions.
Much of the job search process — before you can even get an interview — for both you, the job seeker, and for the employer in trying to find good candidates, is not done in person. It involves employers screening resumes and cover letters, and you reading about employers and viewing their websites, and the like. Take advantage of opportunities to meet employers face-to-face.
Some fairs include follow-up interviewing as part of the fair, for a full or half day. Each fair's website should tell you if they do this.
Some of the employers who attend career fairs also participate in the On-Campus Interviewing Program. Meeting students in person at fairs gives them another way of screening candidates besides just the resume you submit for On-Campus Interviewing.
Regardless of the extent to which technology makes it easier and faster to share information between job seekers and employers, nothing replaces in-person contact for making an impression.
To be effective at a career fair, you need to be ready to make a good impression in person (just as you will be evaluating organizations by the way their representatives behave in person). To do this...
Before you go
Know which employers are attending.
See the career fair / job fair list. The sponsor of each fair is listed (Career Services sponsors Connection Co-op & Internship Fair; other fairs are sponsored by other colleges or departments or student organizations). You'll see links to the website for each fair, and you should find a list of the attending employers with other relevant information — like positions for which they are hiring and majors sought. If there's no information within a month of the fair, contact the sponsor and ask.
If the fair is open to all students: Go to any fair where the employers and their jobs interest you, regardless of your major and who is sponsoring the fair. (You don't have to be in the college that is sponsoring the fair; just see if the employers attending are looking for people with your background or interests.)
Do enough research to make "A" &"B" lists of employers to meet.
Depending on the fair and how many employers interest you, you might not have time to speak with every employer (and every employer may not be offering what you seek). You don't need to study employers' financial reports to prepare, but you do need to have some sense of what the organization does, and if there is a fit between your skills and interests and the employer's needs. Also, if you're looking for more than one type of job — like technical sales or production management — you'll need to know which employers are looking for what so you can give each employer an appropriate resume....
Have plenty of copies of your resume ready. You might need to prepare more than one version.
Always take print copies of your resume to a career / job fair, even if you submitted your resume in advance to a resume book for the fair. (Job fair resume books are usually online, and the employer won't have access while speaking to you. Even if the employer had a print resume book in hand, she won't waste time looking up your resume on the spot.)
And if you're looking for more than one type of position, each being significantly different (like marketing or human resources), you may need two different versions of your resume, each tailored to support the different objective. This doesn't mean you need an individualized resume for each employer at a fair. It simply means when you speak to an employer and say you're interested in a certain kind of work, don't hand the employer a resume that has nothing to do with that kind of work. (Nothing wrong with an employer giving you a new idea on the spot — be flexible and respond appropriately.)
Be prepared that some employers cannot accept hard copy resumes and will ask you to apply online. This is to comply with federal regulations about the way employers keep data on applicants.
This does not mean the employer is giving you the brush-off, and it does not mean the employer is wasting time by attending the fair and talking with you. The employer reps may well be taking note of candidates — you and others — in whom they are interested, but they have to follow certain procedures to comply with law.
Prepare a 20 to 30 second introduction to use with employers. You don't want to sound like a telephone solicitor reading a script; you do want to sound like you thought about why you're there. It might be something like, "Hello. I'm Daria Henderson, a junior in Communication Studies and Marketing. I'm looking for an internship related to marketing for next summer. I read on your web site that (name of company) has an internship program in your corporate marketing department, and I've done some project work that I believe is related to the internship work. I'm very interested in your program." Get the idea? Keep in mind that some employer representatives may take control of the conversation quickly and you may do more listening than speaking, but you do want to be prepared to be proactive rather than passive.
Know the dress code. Each fair has its own styles and traditions. Some are business casual; some suggest or require interview attire. (Club/date attire is not appropriate.) Again, see what the fair sponsor says about attire on their website or other promotional materials. If they don't tell, contact the fair sponsor and ask.
At the career / job fair
Watch your manners and mannerisms — all those things your parents drilled into you when you were a child (and a few more). Stand up straight, don't hang your mouth open, don't fidget, do speak up and speak clearly, don't chew gum or smell like smoke. Have a good handshake and make good eye contact.
Don't be misled into thinking of the fair as a social event. Employers often send recently-hired new graduates to career fairs. Don't fall into the mistake of interacting on a social level and forgetting that you are being judged on your potential to function in the work environment.
Carry a simple padfolio to keep your resumes organized and ready. Some fairs have you check your bags at the door because the event is crowded. Be ready to hand employers the appropriate resume (see You might need to prepare more than one version, above). Be prepared for employers to give you literature and give-away items (pens, cups, t-shirts, etc.) — this is typical at fairs (sometimes they give you a bag to carry the give-aways). Bottom line is that you want to look like an organized person because that's an asset in an employee.
Have an open mind. You may have 12 employers on your target list to speak with. If you have extra time, or have to wait to speak with an employer, take advantage of the opportunity to chat with other employers who aren't busy. You might learn something to your advantage to your surprise. At the least, you'll be practicing initiating a conversation in a less formal business environment — and this is an essential skill in any work environment.
This is your opportunity to be evaluated on more than just your resume. In many aspects of the job search, your resume (and cover letter) is (are) all the employer sees to determine whether to interview you. At a fair, you have an opportunity to stand out in person in a way that you might not on your resume. Interpersonal skills, communication skills and work-place-appropriate social skills are critical. Many employers evaluate these skills heavily, because they want to hire people who can make a good impression on their clients and customers.
Give your best as you can for a job fair/ career fair. Don't be afraid to try for it! Just believe in yourself, and be inspired in natural way..!
