Standing out at a Career Faire can make a difference in your job search. Job Faires are starting to pick up, and a major job search company 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 job fairs scheduled for this year across the United States.
How do you stand out at a Job Fair? The contention can be considerable, but you can help yourself surpass from the herd with advance homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified six-step process to prepare. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the internet to check out the companies that are there before you go. Go to their web sites and see if they have their job openings posted. Pick a moderate number to target, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 9 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 openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements 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 organization.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each potential company/position combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a key prospect for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re want. 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 Career Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be fittingly 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 spot – bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a understandably labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!