Maximizing Your Career Fair Opportunities

Career Fair season is upon us and many local and regional organizations are hosting career fairs. As you are gearing up for career fairs this fall, NACE Contributor Kathy Douglas has 4 tips for Career Fair Success:

  1. Strategically select top employers to visit: Researching organizations and arriving early can help you maximize your career fair potential. Visit your top choices early in the fair time block so that both you and recruiters are fresh and excited to engage in conversation.

  2. Ask good questions: While researching organizations make sure to do a little in-depth digging to prepare “smart questions”. After giving your brief elevator speech, be specific in your questions to maximize the quality of information you will receive about a company.

  3. After discussions, find a place to stop and take notes: After several hours of conversation, it might be hard to remember specific information about an organization. Ensure that you are giving yourself time between each employer to make brief but important notes about the recruiter and their company.

  4. Follow up within a few days: Decide what companies you had the best connection with and the most interest in pursuing. Follow instructions provided by the recruiter to visit an online resource, website or emailed application. Connect via LinkedIn with the recruiter and send them a personal note thanking them for their time and reminding them where you met them. This is a great time to utilize your notes to personalize the message to the recruiter.

Courtesy of NACEWEB. For more information on this topic, see the full article at this link: Career Fair Strategies that Work