Five Tips to Your Next Career Fair

One of the great opportunities of being a Virginia Tech student is attending career fairs.  Career fairs allow students looking for jobs and internships to meet company representatives in hopes of finding a fit.  Of course, walking into a career fair and looking at the room full of recruiters can be stressful.  As a student myself, my experience at career fairs has led me to follow these five tips:

1) Do your research before you get there.  Career fairs are chock-full of companies, and chances are you’re not going to have the time to visit every booth.  By checking out what companies are going to be there ahead of time, you’ll have a better idea of who you want to talk to, instead of aimlessly walking around.  Plus, if you know what the company does and what you would be interested in before you talk to the representative, you’re innovation might impress them.  Making an impression is the first step for getting your foot in the door.

2) Make sure your resume is ready to go.  Even if you’re not looking to be hired, if you talk to a company at a career fair, they might ask for your resume to have on file.  Now, the actual building of a resume is a long enough topic for its own article, but there are two main things you should keep in mind specifically for a career fair.  First, print more copies than you expect to hand out.  If you plan on talking to five companies, print out eight copies.  If you plan on talking to ten companies, print out twelve.  The last thing you want to happen is engaging in a great conversation with a company representative, only to find that you ran out of resumes when they ask you for one.  Second, be smart about what paper you choose to print your resume on.  Heavier paper looks more professional that regular printer paper.  If you want to choose a color, a light cream or light blue can be used.  However, most companies I’ve talked to say they prefer white.  In the end, it’s nice to stand out, but you want to be remembered for what is on the resume, not what the resume is on.

3) Practice your elevator speech.  An elevator speech is a thirty second introduction about yourself to prospective employers. Let’s face it: talking to someone who might hire you in the future can be intimidating.  Saying hello and introducing yourself can be the scariest part.  However, if you practice your elevator speech enough, it will become so natural to you, you won’t even have to think about what you’re saying.  Then when the scary introduction is over, the employer can start to add to the conversation and you can take a quick breather before continuing on.  First impressions are important, so make yours count. 

4)  Dress for the job you want to have, not the one you currently have.  The title says it all.  Dressing casually can make you look like you don’t care, an impression you do not want to give a prospective employer.  However, go overboard, and you might risk tripping in those new heels you just bought.  Dressing up is supposed to be about confidence, so find that outfit that brings out your inner confidence and show those companies what you’re made of. 

5) Don’t talk to your number one company right away.  Walking into the career fair, you probably already have an idea of at least a few companies you want to talk to.  Maybe these are big and well-established companies that have been around for ages, or maybe you’re passionate about joining a start-up company.  Regardless, you might find yourself tensing up when you finally come face to face with the recruiter from that company.  To help battle the nerves building up in you, try talking to other interesting companies that might not be as high on your priority list first.  If you start with companies you’re not as interested in, you get the chance to make all of your mistakes and figure out what and what not to do before you get to your top company.  That way, when the time comes, you’ve already had some practice.

So if you attend any of next week’s career fairs, take a deep breath, follow these tips, and remember: these recruiters want to talk to you.  That’s what they’re there for.  So feel free to ask questions and take all the free swag they hand out to you.