Getting Real Interviews at a Job Event
Standing out at a Job Faire can make a difference in your job search. Career Faires are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a SF Bay Area Job Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job faires scheduled for this year across the United States.
How do you compete at a Job Faire? The rivalry can be noteworthy, but you can help yourself leap out from the gang with advance preparation. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified step-by-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the internet to check out the companies that are there beforehand. Go to their internet sites and see if they have their job openings listed. Pick a sane number to target, and get ready to spend up to an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 7 in a day, and four to six is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, you want to know: executive names, recent news, and key product lines. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with 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 prerequisites of the job. Make the language match. If the hiring organization calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring company.
Third, create a ‘short sales pitch’ for each likely organization/job combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally describing why you are a fantastic 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 position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re aiming for. 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 requirements. Especially at a Career Faire, 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 match based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be well groomed. Don’t over do-it (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 marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
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