Career Fair 101: How to Ace It This Back-to-School Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, it’s not holiday season yet — I’m talking about back-to-school season, which is filled with clean slates and brand new ventures for students and young professionals. While you may be sad to put away your beach towels and sunscreen, you should be aware of another opportunity on the horizon: Back-to-school career fairs.

Career fairs are a job search goldmine, especially if you want to meet employers face-to-face. Plus, many universities hold career fairs during the first few weeks of school, which helps you to jump start your search right when things are picking back up again.

If you’re thinking about attending a back-to-school career fair, there are a few things you need to do in order to ace your experience. Check them out:

Do your research

Conducting ample research before you attend a back-to-school career fair is one of the most important things you can do. Find out who will be there, what organizations to target, and how to position yourself for success. Once you’ve got some background data, you can reach out to thought leaders or company employees to ask questions and show you’re a knowledgeable candidate.

Tip: Check out a company’s news section and jot down a few points of interest. Refer to these when you’re talking to recruiters or hiring managers so you appear well-versed and up to speed on their operations.

Create a strategy

Once you know who will be there, you need to create a career fair strategy in order to understand what these companies may ask of you. Many want to chat, while others will conduct on-the-spot interviews. If you’re unsure, don’t hesitate to contact the organization directly so you can gauge how you’ll spend your time.

Tip: Evaluate which booths you want to visit and then plan a route — check out the career fair legend or map to do this. Go one step further and space them out by time so you can optimize your experience.

Have application materials handy

Let’s say you want to check out some creative advertising agencies at the career fair. Whether you know it or not, these agencies may want to check out your work experience, look over your resume, or ask you about your work history. When this happens, you’ll need something to point to, which is why having application materials on you at all times is so important.

Tip: For the organizations you’re heavily targeting, be sure to create an actual portfolio they can keep. Not only will this help you to stand out, it will give them something to reference in your follow up email or if you’re given an interview on the spot.

Follow-up

Following up is the secret ingredient to career fair success. Think about it: Employers receive tons of resumes or applications during the fair. What can make you stand out from others? Sending a quick email, saying hello on social platforms, or giving them a call after the fact. This puts you in the front of their minds.

Tip: If you can link a funny anecdote or interesting occurrence from your meeting in your follow-up strategy, do so. This can help an employer to remember you because you’re associating a distinct event with your career fair experience.

This back-to-school season, be sure to use the above tips to amplify your presence and ace your career fair experience. Doing so will put you in the running to land your dream job in no time.

What do you think? What are some other ways to ace a back-to-school career fair?

Image: Courtesy of SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget; Flickr