Getting Noticed at Career Fairs
Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your job hunt. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Job Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job faires scheduled for 2010 across the US.
How do you stand out at a Job Fair? The competition can be substantial, but you can help yourself stand out from the crowd with advance preparation. At AA-Careers, we have a straight-forward six-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the internet to research the companies that are there beforehand. Go to their internet sites and see if they have their job openings posted. Pick a sound number to go after, and get ready to spend up to an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than nine in a day, and four or five 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’ll end up 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 accomplishments and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the language 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 ‘mini sales pitch’ for each likely company/position combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a key prospect for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job kiosk.
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 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 obvious 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 distinctly labeled folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be properly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any cologne or fragrance sparingly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!

