Standing out at Job Fairs
Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your job hunt. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Silicon Valley Job Faire in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job faires scheduled for this year across the United States.
How do you get to the real interviews at a Job Fair? The contention can be significant, but you can help yourself stand out from the bunch with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple six-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the organizations that are going and pick your objectives. Use the World Wide Web to research the companies that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their sites and see if they have their jobs posted. Pick a moderate number to target, 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 will end up with with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job postings on the web, read them to see what the hiring manager is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the demands of the job. Make the language 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 organization.
Third, create a ‘short sales pitch’ for each likely organization/job combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally depicting why you are a great prospect for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the company at the job kiosk.
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 achievements and skills that most clearly match the job requirements. 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 very easy 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 intelligibly tagged folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be properly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or scent meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
