Getting Real Interviews at Career Faires
Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your job hunting. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a San Jose Area Career Faire in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for 2010 across the US.
How do you get to the real interviews at a Job Faire? The competition can be substantial, but you can help yourself jump out from the crowd with early homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified six-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the World Wide Web to research the companies that are there ahead of time. Go to their web sites and see if they have their openings posted. Pick a limited number to target, and get ready to spend about an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than seven in a day, and three to five is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and contacts you know. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You should end up with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the organization is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the terminology 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 potential organization/job combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud describing why you are a key prospect for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the company at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re want. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job description. 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 simple to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be well 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, practice your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each position – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly tagged folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
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