| Standing out at Job Faires |
| 02.08.10 | |
Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your career search. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a SF Bay Area Career Fair in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career faires scheduled for this year across the US.
How do you compete at a Job Faire? The rivalry can be substantial, but you can help yourself jump out from the crowd with advance planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple step-by-step process to get ready. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the internet to check out the organizations that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their websites and see if they have their jobs posted. Pick a sensible number to target, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than eight in a day, and four or five is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: key product lines, recent news, and executive names. 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 company is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements 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 ‘short sales pitch’ for each likely organization/position combination. Write down a ninety second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally describing why you are a special candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position 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 prerequisites. Especially at a Career Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be very easy to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly groomed. Don’t overdress (this isn’t a date!) and don’t underdress (no jeans or t-shirts, no matter how much you paid for them). Avoid strong cologne or perfume.
Finally, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
