Getting Real Interviews at Job Fairs
February 9th, 2010 by
Administrator
Standing out at a Job Faire can make a difference in your career search. Career Fairs are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a SF Bay Area Career Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job faires scheduled for 2010 across the US.
How do you get to the real interviews at a Job Fair? The rivalry can be noteworthy, but you can help yourself stand out from the crowd with early preparation. At AA-Careers, we have a straight-forward step-by-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the web to check out the companies that are there beforehand. Go to their web sites and see if they have their job openings listed. Pick a sane number to go after, and get ready to spend about an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 10 in a day, and four to six 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 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 demands 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 ‘short sales pitch’ for each potential organization/position combination. Write down a ninety 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 the team from the company at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements 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 a no-brainer to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.
Fifth, 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 clearly labeled 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 well groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or scent meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
Posted in Better Commerce, Living With Marketing, Plugs |
Comments Off


