How to Compete at a Career 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 Silicon Valley Career Faire in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job fairs scheduled for this year across the States.
How do you stand out at a Career Fair? The rivalry can be considerable, but you can help yourself surpass from the gang with advance preparation. At AA-Careers, we have a simple 6-step process to prepare. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the organizations that are going and pick your objectives. Use the World Wide Web to check out the organizations that are there before you go. Go to their websites and see if they have their openings listed. Pick a sound 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 3-5 is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring 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 will end up with 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 company is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the demands of the job. Make the terminology 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 ‘thumbnail sales pitch’ for each potential organization/job combination. Write down a sixty second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally showing why you are a good candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job stall.
Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job 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 description. 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 a no-brainer to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.
Fifth, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be fittingly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or perfume sparingly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
