Five ways to
improve your chances
With a little preparation, you can distinguish yourself in recruiters'
minds as the ideal candidate for their positions.
- Do your research. Visit the ajcjobs career fair web site and
find out who's hiring and for what positions. Then, get to work.
Visit their company Web sites. Google them. Find out what they're
up to, and how your unique skills and personality can help them with
their projects, plans and problems.
- Dress Professionally. A career fair is your chance to have
many mini-interviews with recruiters who are actively seeking candidates
with your background. You need to dress the part and project a neat,
professional appearance.
- Bring your résumé. Your résumé should be in order and ready
to go, with no typos or other errors to catch a recruiter's eye.
Bring at least 20 copies, on high-quality résumé paper. You want
to be able to give each recruiter his or her own copy, plus additional
copies for their contacts. Need help updating your résumé? Check
out Resume.com for more information.
- Introduce yourself. You only get one shot at a first impression
-- make sure it's a great one. Make direct eye contact with the recruiter,
smile and shake hands firmly. Give the recruiter a short, one-minute
introduction to yourself. Start with your name and job title/area,
and then quickly sum up your years of experience and major saleable
skills. Prepare and practice your introduction before the fair so
that you can say it with a smile without sounding nervous or rushing
through it.
- Follow through. Request business cards from each of the recruiters
to which you speak. After leaving a company's booth, take notes while
information is still fresh in your mind and keep the recruiter's
card with you. Now you can write a thank you to everyone you saw.
Send your letters within 24-hours of the career fair. Be sure to
bring up one key issue the recruiter mentioned; then explain how
your skills and background would help you deal with that issue. Sell
yourself! Finally, don't forget to enclose a copy of your résumé.
To learn more about interviewing, play the ajcjobs
Nail the Interview game
