Getting Real Interviews at a Career Fair
Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your job hunting. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career faires scheduled for 2010 across the United States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Faire? The contention can be substantial, but you can help yourself stick out from the herd with early homework. At AA-Careers, we have a straight-forward 6-step process to get ready. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the organizations that are going and pick your targets. Use the World Wide Web to check out the companies that are there beforehand. Go to their internet sites and see if they have their openings listed. Pick a sound number to go after, and get ready to spend about an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than ten in a day, and four to six 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 hiring manager is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the nomenclature 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 ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential company/position combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally depicting why you are a key prospect for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job kiosk.
Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. 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 accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job requirements. Especially at a Job 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 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 opportunity - 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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