You've got the Career Fair Jitters! Here's how to overcome them

Chantae was so nervous, she had to get Brittany to put on her name tag for her. She really needed to find a summer internship to get experience and make some bank, but she had never been to Connection before. Why oh why didn't she go to this fair last year when she was in her first year? Then this wouldn't feel so intimidating because she would at least know what to expect. All these students in suits looking so sure of themselves elevated her fear. What could she do to calm her nerves?

Sound familiar? 

Here are some tips if going to a career fair fills you with dread too.

Have a plan of attack for what want to say about yourself and to employers you will speak with. Plan and practice your introduction. Practicing your introduction is the only way it will be smooth. Tape yourself, stand in front of your mirror, or try out your elevator pitch on your friends. What makes you special that an employer would want to know about?

Visit employers' web sites and check out their NEWS section or Press Releases. This is a great place to develop questions you have for each employer. As you get to the fair, find a map of employers and study where your target list of employers are located. Wondering how many to talk to? An easy way to decide is to consider the time you have to spend there. For example, if you allow 10 minutes per employer, and you can only be there for 3 hours, then target 18 employers, maybe with 9 on your A list whom you research more, and 9 on your B list where you at least visit their web sites and know what they do.

Apply to openings before the fair. Visit Hokies4Hire and your A list employers' web sites and apply to openings before you attend fairs. This will make your conversation so much better because you can ask questions about the job you already applied for. This also demonstrates to employers you are genuinely interested and you have initiative.

Observe first. Get in a long line at an employer's booth. Listen to recruiters and questions they ask. Compare various students' introductions and questions. Then, get out of that line before you are at the front and go visit a couple more booths, and repeat this process. Why? You will be comfortable with the environment and have a better idea of what to expect.

OK, are you ready now? 

Take a deep breath, AND...

Start with some employers on your B list. That way if your introduction is kind of rocky, it's not the end of the world. As you talk to more employers and your elevator pitch gets more smooth, move on to your A list of employers. Let employers know through questions or discussion that you have done research on their organizations.

Before you leave each employer, ask for a business card. If they don't have one, then ask for an email address and/or phone number. Find out how you should follow up with them. Then, DO IT.

Master the follow up. Ten days to two weeks after the fair, call or email the employer. The call on your end can go something like this:

"Hi this is Chantae Smith. I met you two weeks ago at the Connection Job Fair at Virginia Tech. I applied online as you suggested, and wanted to check on the status of my application. Is there any other information you need from me to consider me for an interview? I'm really interested in the internship at Altria and wanted to make sure my online information came through properly."

That's a start!

What other tips do you have for Chantae? If you want to practice your introduction before you enter the fair, come see us at the Career Services booth at Connection.

Let employers know how YOU can add value to their organization. YOU GOT THIS!

Job Search Gone Cold? 7 ways to warm up!

We finally got our first big snow of 2015 and we’re in for a frigid week. While it’s cold outside, use this time to warm up your job search. Here are 6 warm ups for you with a bonus recipe thrown in!

Want to move to a different part of the country? Check out CareerSHIFT where you can customize your search for listings targeting a certain job title or location. And, if you have a dream employer but no contacts, you can search for contacts at employers as well. Once you locate an employer, send that contact a letter of inquiry with your resume.

Attend career fairs. Next week the Computer Science Consortium, Connection and CareerFest fairs will all be held. Connection is for ALL majors. And, if you don’t already have Spring Break plans, there are career fairs in Richmond and Northern Virginia during our break. Find out more about various fairs here.

Ramp up your brand online by fine tuning your LinkedIn profile. The more complete your profile, the more LinkedIn can help you, and the more you will bubble up in searches. Tap into a special job search site LinkedIn has created just for you. And, FIND ALUMNI by accessing them under CONNECTIONS in the LinkedIn tool bar. Tailor your requests to connect with alumni.

Make Hokies4Hire a regular part of your search by setting up saved searches (a job search agent), so you will get emails when a new job is added that meets your criteria. You can also participate in on campus interviews and look for contacts in the Employer Directory in Hokies4Hire.

Use GoinGlobal to research a city where you plan to relocate. This site features over 40 US City Guides with links to job listing sites. Tap into professional networking groups for a particular city and learn about top industries. And, if you are an international student, access the H1B Plus database to find employers who have been through the H1B process with other employees.

Put yourself out there! Don’t be afraid to reach out to contacts through friends of parents or parents of friends. Maybe that contact is a neighbor, someone you met at a conference, someone you know from class. Most people like helping others. If you find someone who won’t assist you, move on to the next contact. As I tell the 2 Hokies I raised, 

“It  never hurts to ask. The worst answer you will get is no!”

Need more ideas to warm up your job search? Come see us in Career Services or at a location near you. To make an appointment with a career advisor, call 540-231-6241. We can help you heat up your job search!

To close, warm up for real with this homemade hot chocolate recipe from the Hershey Cocoa box. Nothing like HOMEMADE HOT COCOA to warm up on these cold days we’ve been having. Stay warm and try some of these tips to make your job search heat up!

What's your dream? One of my dreams reaches 30,000 views

Thank you! After two years of posting career advice along with a few other posts, we've surpassed 30,000 views.

We appreciate your support. Thanks to our colleagues and advisors who share our posts with the many students we advise. And, thanks to family, friends, and others who have passed on posts. Writing for this blog is a vehicle to share and explore our creativity, research various career-related issues, grow our writing skills, and build our skill at cyber advising.

Special thanks to Ariel Cohen, who helped me create this blog and wrote posts for a year and a half before she graduated.

And thank you to Career Services Peer Career Advisors, Ariana Mollers and Emma Weiss, who have written posts during the 2014 - 2015 academic year.

Thanks again for reading! And, please invite someone else to read one of our posts today! Have a suggestion for a topic you want us to address? Let us know. We would love to hear from you. This blog was just a dream a few years ago, and look where it has taken us.

It's February! Show employers some love at career fairs!

When you think of February in the United States, what comes to mind? Candy, hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day? President's Day? Ground Hog Day? One less month of winter? On our campus, February means career fair month.

This year there are seven, yes, 7!, fairs on campus and one fair for sports enthusiasts we've linked to that is occurring elsewhere. The only spring fair sponsored by Career Services, the Connection Job Fair, is for all majors and for students seeking internship, co-op, or full-time positions. Currently, 130 employers are registered to attend. Curious about who is attending? Visit this site to do your research and discover which employers seek your major.

Want to improve your performance at career fairs this month? Try these methods to show some love to employers at fairs you attend.

Present a well written resume to employers. To fine tune your resume, meet with advisors at these various locations and times . Print your resume on finer quality paper containing cotton or linen fibers. Your resume is your ad--make it look good! Have a copy of your unofficial transcript and list of references with you in case an employer asks for them. Carry all of these in a padfolio.

Research employers you want to meet. Create a target list of employers and visit their web sites. A great place to check out is their NEWS. Write down questions you want to ask as you meet with employers. After all, a career fair is a mini interview, where both the employer and you should ask questions. Unsure what to ask? View suggested questions to ask employers .

Practice your introduction. As you walk up to an employer and shake hands, you want your introduction to be polished. The only way for that to happen is for you to work on your introduction. Need help creating your elevator pitch? Visit one a past post to work on your introduction.

Dress for success. What should you wear to a career fair? A suit is fine if you want to look most professional, but business casual attire is appropriate for fairs. Many of the employers you meet will wear more casual attire, so you can too. A nice pair of pants (or skirt or dress for women) and a nice shirt will make a good impression. Leave your 3 inch heels, tight skirt and revealing top at home.

Develop a plan of attack. At the fair, check in, placing your nametag on your right below your shoulder. Obtain a map of employer booths, finding your target employers. Before you speak with an employer, observe. Stand in a long line, listening to the conversation. Move to a few other long lines before you get to the front. Observing gets you more comfortable with how career fairs work. As you speak with employers, save your first choice employer for later to first work on your conversation skills. Ask for business cards!



Bonus! Final tip: Follow up after the fair. Go online if you need to apply. Write employers you meet a thank you note for speaking with you at the fair. Email or call employers a couple of weeks after applying. You will be much more successful in your search for a position if you follow up. And, your follow up demonstrates your interest and initiative.

You've got this! Go spread some Hokie love!!