What comes next after the job fair?

 So you did it! You made it through the Connection Job Fair! But you aren’t quite done with all this career mumbo jumbo yet…

Now comes the follow up part of your job search!

No matter how you felt after leaving the fair, it’s important to remember the many ways you can make your presence a force to be reckoned with in terms of the work force.

Keep it simple! Shoot an email or give a phone call to the recruiters you spoke with. Hopefully you collected some sort of contact information from them, but if you didn’t, feel free to check out the list of employers that attended. Perhaps, it can be just as easy to get a name from that resource.

·         Here is a link to see the list of employers:

http://career.vt.edu/CONNECTION/Index.html

Make it personal! If you can, let them know you appreciated talking with them, ask them any leftover questions you had, and clearly state your interest in working for their company. Maybe this is a good chance for you to bring up skills that you think the company will be interested in!

My best piece of advice is to maintain connection. Even if there isn’t an opportunity immediately, there could be one in the near future. Remember to be positive, communicative, and flexible.

Depending on the information you discussed with recruiters in regards to the next step, remember to always follow directions to exactness. It’s important that employers can see that you are respectful of their time and purpose. It also proves that you are able to uphold a professional image.

You may be asked to go through on-campus interviews, other rounds of interviewing, shadowing sessions, salary negotiation and other forms of the job application process. Prepare yourself for any and all of this!

·         Information on how to prepare can be found on this blog post from Rasmussen college:

http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/main/things-to-do-after-attending-career-fair/

As much as I would like to tell you that you are almost done, that is relatively misleading. You may find the job you want immediately, but its important to keep these tips in mind for your career exploration. Odds are, you will end up working for most of your life. Practicing how to network, brushing up on your interviewing skills, and updating your LinkedIn account and resume are essential components to successfully exploring a career path.

·         If you need more information, check out the Career Services site for more tips on how to follow up after the job fair.

https://www.career.vt.edu/Interviewing/AfterThanksFollowUp.html

Also, check out this cool infographic with some stats on following up with employers!

Career Fair and Interview Dress: Which of these 8 tips do you already know?

After working at the Connection Job Fair and Interview Day on campus earlier this week, our staff came up with a list of some tips for students as you dress for business casual or business professional settings like a career fair or an interview.  Taking these steps demonstrates that wearing business casual or professional attire is not an unfamiliar concept to you, even if it is. And, your appearance leaves an impression...make sure it's a good one.

New suit, skirt or jacket? Make sure you remove the thread X that is sewn to hold a slit together in the back of a jacket or skirt. That X is not supposed to remain there when you wear the item.

Wearing a button down shirt? Button the collar buttons on each side.

If your pants have belt loops, wear one! You’re not fully dressed for business without one. 

Baseball caps are great to cover up a bad hair day or to wear outside. They don’t belong at career fairs or interviews.

Good quality coats, blazers or suits may come with a tag sewn to the outside of a sleeve. Remove this tag before wearing.

Save tight skirts, very short dresses and other revealing attire for some other time – not a career fair or interview. What you wear going downtown or to a party may seem dressed up, but it's often not the same as business casual or professional dress. Wonder if an outfit works? Come ask us in Career Services.

If you attend an event like a career fair where you wear a nametag, make sure you place your nametag somewhere you want a person to try to read it. It’s a good idea to position nametags on your right shoulder or right jacket lapel so the person you meet can easily read your nametag after shaking your hand.

Consider how long you will be on your feet at a career fair or walking to an interview. Save your fun extra high heels for a different time. Although both combat and cowboy boots are in style, they are a bit too casual for business casual attire.

Follow these tips, follow up and follow through, and your search for a position will end with these words: You're Hired!

Connection Job Fair Prep

It’s that time again! Time to meet your future! In person. Don’t be intimidated by that though, this is a very good thing. The Connection Job Fair is a very convenient resource for you and your peers to meet potential employers, to network, and to learn about the opportunity that lies outside of college.

There are few things you should do before just showing up next Tuesday. As always, I have one big piece of advice when it comes to job fairs: RESEARCH.

Research what kind of job or experience you want in your near future, research what employers will be there, research the specific companies you know for sure you want to talk to, research what you should wear, what you should bring, research the appropriate things to ask when speaking to the employers, and research what things they want to hear.

That all sounds like a lot, but when you start, I promise one part of your research will just flow into the next. Plus, it can be a really fun process to become a young business professional!

To make your research load a little lighter, here are a few quick tips I have:

• Pick out a standard outfit that is undoubtedly business professional OR business casual. For business professional, guys this means pants, ladies this means appropriate length skirts or pants. Dress it up with a blazer and you all are good to go! For business casual, a nice top and pants work for men or women, and women can wear a dress or top and skirt. Wear shoes that are not difficult to walk in.
•   Practice your handshake! Remember—firm but not overpowering.
• Make eye contact with the employers—confidence goes a long way in terms of employers seeing potential in you. 
• If it seems fitting, take notes while you speak with them. This shows an investment in what they are saying and it may be information that will become useful for you down the road.
• Have several copies of your resume to hand out to employers as you meet them. Even better, make personalized copies of your resume to hand out to the employers you know you are going to talk to. JUST BE SURE TO HAND THE RIGHT RESUME TO THE RIGHT EMPLOYER.
•  Look up a good 3-5 companies that you definitely want to talk to, learn what their purpose and mission are, what they are looking for in a new employee, and what they have been doing most recently.
• Showing familiarity with a company shows that you have a drive to work for them and gives you the advantage over other candidates.
• Practice your elevator speech
• This is a brief blurb about who you are, what you are doing, and where you want to go. Think of it as what you would say to the CEO of a major company on an elevator ride. Time is ticking and you want to present the best of yourself!

•  Generate some questions to ask employers.
• Ask what employees do on a day-by-day basic, ask about the application process is like for their positions, ask what they enjoy most about working there.
• Forbes has an excellent article about the top 10 questions to ask an employer.
• Relax! It’s just talking and networking at this point, but it’s definitely a great starting point for your career path.

If you have any more questions about how to prepare for the job fair next Tuesday, or even job fairs after that, check out the VT Career Services page at www.career.vt.edu.

Good luck! 

Written by Olivia Brescia, Peer Career Advisor

3 Parting Questions for Recruiters at Career Fairs

Within the next few weeks, there are 3 on-campus career fairs : Connection Job Fair and Myers Lawson School of Construction Fair on Tuesday, October 20, and Civil and Environmental Engineering Fair on Tuesday, Oct. 27. As you get ready for these fairs, here are 3 questions to be sure you ask before you leave an employer’s booth.

The Ideal Candidate?

How would you describe your ideal candidate for this position? This is one of my favorite questions to ask in interviews. Career fairs aren't interviews, you may think. And yet, the brief time you have with a recruiter at a career fair really is a mini interview. I like the ideal candidate question because you can hear what the employer is looking for and figure out how you fit. When the employer finishes describing her ideal, then it’s time for you to speak up and share how match that ideal. Not sure what I mean?

Let’s say the employer says, they seek someone with customer service skills, leadership experience and strong communication skills. Then I could jump in and say, “You mentioned you would like someone good at customer service. I feel like I’ve been able to grow those skills in my role as a server, salesperson and teller in the various part-time positions I’ve held. And, for the past year, I was the leader of my 30-member study abroad group where I had to act as both a resident advisor, event planner and mediator. I feel like I’m building both my oral and written communication skills in my classes where I’ve had to write several research papers and also make presentations of my findings.” In an interview an employer is looking for the best fit. This question about their ideal allows you to prove how you fit.

Are you interviewing?

Before you leave your conversation with an employer at a career fair, be sure to inquire about next steps. Many employers stay after the day following a career fair to interview students. Ask an employer when they plan to do interviews. By asking, you might have the chance to talk to them the next day. If they’re not staying to interview, ask if they are returning to campus later this fall. Some employers do, as on-campus interviewing continues until December. To view on-campus interview opportunities, login to Hokies4Hire and read more about on-campus interviews here.

May I have your business card?

Finally, don’t depart an employer’s booth at a career fair until you have contact information for the employer. Ask for a business card. If the recruiter doesn’t have one, ask for an email address or phone number so you will be able to follow up. Follow up is key to success in your search for a job or internship.

SUCCESS!!! Ensuring you ask these 3 questions as you talk to employers at career fairs can make for better results as you attend career fairs.  Come see us in Career Services if you want help to improve your performance at career fairs and in interviews.

Career Exploration

If you ask a mentor, a parent, or a boss what job they thought they would have been when they were younger, chances are it is not the job they have currently.

It’s helpful to plan ahead for your career; but it is absolutely subject to change.

Career exploration is meant to encourage this variability. It allows you to look at the qualities of several jobs, as opposed to the job itself.

Self-reflect

So, take a second and think, “What am I good at and what do I like to do?” Strip away your education if that isn’t necessarily what you are passionate about. Just think, “My personality type would go really well in this line of work…”

But what if you don’t know your personality type? Take an assessment! There are tons out there, but here are a few of my favorites:

Personality Assessments

•  Myers Briggs personality assessment
•  Myplan.com
•  Strengths Quest

All of these assessments are excellent resources for you to start your career exploration. They provide positive reinforcement to your best qualities and insight into the type of careers that lie best with your interests.

The best piece of advice I have ever gotten was to network like no-one’s business. Not only does this get your own personal brand out there, but it also provides you with inherent knowledge about all the opportunity. You may cross paths with a Vice President of a fortune 200 company that works in the corporate communications department, but his background is in engineering and design work. Odds are he didn’t plan that career path, but he can tell you how he got there. That vice president probably just listened to what his co-workers told him he was good at, and followed the guide that is his personality.

Now let’s talk experience!

Whether you are student, a recent graduate, or have been working for several years, it’s always a good time to get experience  to test out your career or major choice. There are certainly many options for just that. You can get experience in graduate school, internships, organizations, volunteer positions, full-time jobs, etc. Notice how none of those necessarily require a specific major. It’s important to choose a major that’s right for you, but don’t feel like your major  will determine everything. Keep an open mind about exploring careers. Take the experience when you can, reflect on the parts that were positive, think about opportunity for improvement, and move forward in your career path.

If you have any questions about career and major exploration, check out this site on the Virginia Tech Career Services page.

Searching for a Job?

We know…there are just too many options!

When it comes to job searching, there really are no limits. Some of your friends may have picked up a job either through a prior experience or through a networking opportunity, coursework; whatever the case, there are endless opportunities out there.

My best  advice in your job searching is to never limit yourself in the jobs you are seeking. Although it is appropriate to use an advanced search, be careful about your keywords. Also, play to your strengths. What you may have done in the past may not necessarily be your future.

Places to look online: 

•  CareerShift
•  LinkedIn
• Hokies4Hire
• Plain and simple: a Google search

When a job in your field is posted, often times, you will see that they are using several portals to post the job.

Choose the user-friendliest site you know. I personally think CareerShift makes it easy to search, choose, and save postings. Often times, these sites will direct you to their company website or another job portal to apply. That’s okay! Just follow the steps it takes you on until you can submit.

In all of these resources, be sure to build some type of profile.

Personalizing yourself online, especially with job posting sites, speaks to your own brand and gives you an advantage because it enables employers to look for you while you are looking for them.

Building your profile includes: 

•  First and last name
•  Phone and email for easy contacting
•  A general version of your resume
• A headline stating what you are currently doing

 In online searching, I always like to think less is more…to some extent.

• I search the most important general key word I can think of that has relevance to what I want to do.
• Location is a big deal to me, because that affects the pay I would want to make.
• Therefore, I choose 4-5 different locations I would be willing to work in. You can choose to do less or more; however, do keep in mind the places you would really like to be at in the next stage of your life.
• I think it’s been really helpful to specify the experience level. This way my search results don’t get clouded with positions that I am far too under qualified for.
• With all that in mind, everything else should be a broad array of opportunities in terms of what you would be willing to apply to.
• Some shortcuts you could use would be sync up information from your LinkedIn account, or allow the job portal to pull information automatically from your resume; be sure to check the information gets plugged into the correct places.

More tips!

• Apply to as many openings as you can stand. It never hurts to have options.
•  Obviously by concerned with making those applications the best they can be. Always remember: quality AND quantity.
• Do follow-ups! Especially when it’s a job you really want. Phone is more personal, but email can work if a phone number isn’t available.
•  Be prepared to answer questions anytime anywhere (I once did an impromptu interview while at the gym, it helps to just practice your ability to compose really quickly).
• Always maintain contacts, even if a position you wanted isn’t available at the time, it’s possible something else may come around later. Just maintain grace with your contact; check in every now and then, and eventually your name may be called.
• Save a version of a really solid resume and cover letter. Throughout your experiences applying to jobs, tweak these documents to cater to the specific companies. This saves you time and it personalizes your applications.

Job searching can be a really fun process! Be flexible, efficient, and open to possibilities; and you’ll land yourself a pretty fun opportunity.