Getting Noticed at Career Faires
Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your job hunting. Career Fairs 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 Career Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career faires scheduled for 2010 across the US.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Career Fair? The contention can be significant, but you can help yourself stand out from the herd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple 6-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the web to research the organizations that are there ahead of time. Go to their sites and see if they have their job openings listed. Pick a limited number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 10 in a day, and four or five is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring company, you want to know: executive names, recent news, and key product lines. 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 hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the prerequisites of the job. Make the terminology match. If the hiring organization 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 ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential organization/position combination. Write down a 90 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally showing why you are a special prospect for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the company at the job kiosk.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re targeting. 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 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, rehearse 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 understandably marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or perfume meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
