Making the Most of the Career Fair

Today, job fairs are becoming more commonplace, and with the current job market, job fairs are getting more crowded. The following are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd and make the most of our Career Fair on October 7th at the Greenville Convention Center.

1. Research for Results

Find out ahead of time which companies will be represented and do your homework. Review the company websites, the positions they currently have open, and news related to them and their industry. Consider making a cheat sheet to bring with you that outlines the results of your research.

What if there’s a company you didn’t expect? Cruise by the table, pick up literature and then read it (of course, out of view). That you at least know something about the company. Recruiters are always impressed with prepared candidates. They are unimpressed with people who don’t have a clue about their company.

2. Develop Your Ex-Factors Pitch

At job fairs, you don’t have much time to make a good impression, so you’ll need to be able to quickly, clearly, and concisely explain your background and how you might fit in. Don’t just memorize and deliver the same monologue to every potential employer. Since each company is unique you’ll want to highlight different things for each company.

Your pitch should include your “ex” factors. That’s “e-x” for your experience, expertise, and excellence.

The experience part is the high-level summary of your most relevant work history and education. Most likely this part will be the same for every employer, but not always. Next, is a summary of specific, quantitative or qualitative results that you’ve achieved. Prepare two or three different expertise sound bites. Then for each interviewer choose one or two that fit best. End your pitch by describing two or three skills or traits that make you who you are.

3. Practice Your Pitch

In order to deliver your pitch in a clear, concise, and compelling manner, you’ll need to practice. Most people need to practice this quite a bit. No one wants to hear the mind-numbing monotone of people’s voices as they struggle to find the right words to describe their experience.

Of course, you’re practicing your words, but you should also be practicing your non-verbal communication. Please, don’t wing it. Practicing both your words and your body language ahead of time will significantly improve your performance.

4. Smiling Is Required

The most important high-value, non-verbal behavior is smiling. It is critical that you smile while having conversations with company representatives. A very recent study reported that smiling faces were easier to remember.

There you have it, four quick and dirty tips to help you make the most of the career fair.

Written By: Lee Brown; COB Career Center – Assistant Director

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