Career fairs are an excellent way to find new opportunities for work, to network with similar minded people, and to find a potentially new career path. Many people though do not have much inspiration or are ill prepared when attempting to go to career fairs.
Career fairs can be daunting social arenas where many potential candidates compete for sparing amount of roles. These are great exercises though, and its always worth remembering that you are being evaluated as a person rather than only on your core skills when you send your CV. Its also a fantastic opportunity to network amongst professionals.
How do I prepare for a career fair?
There are many types of career fairs and it would be a mistake to generalise about all career fairs. For example, a hackathon-type career fair with IT orientated people will be different to one about sales jobs. Wall Street banks . This brings us to our first point : make sure you know which parties are attending career fairs and research
Another important point following this is to dress for the occasion. If it is a formal conference or career fair with executive types make sure you are dressed as if you were going to a job interview. If it is a studies fair or a more alternative career fair then you can go more casually. Even so make sure you are “clean” enough to come across as someone who is in control rather than someone who has just come out of bed.
With your research preparation done, it is vital to target which businesses and people you are going to spend the most time with. Time is limited for everyone, and if you want to forge strong connections you likely can’t just hope 5 minutes from table to table, so you have to plan ahead and not try to engage too much with parties that are not in your immediate career interests.
Lastly, bring your CV, and make sure your CV is quality. Leaving your CV is already the first step to being contacted, so make sure your CV has all the elements that will make the recruiter not only remember you but immediately think of when thinking about who was really up to the job. Have a look at our CV templates.
How do I stand out at a career fair or conference?
Standing out can be difficult in these types of situations because you don’t want to come across as overly enthusiastic or careerist, especially in a European context, where the American “elevator” speech can come across as fake at times. Nevertheless it helps to practice introducing yourself in a formal context and to know who you are potentially meeting so you can strike some common ground earlier on in the conversation.
You also need to know what the latest projects the companies are working on and bolster your expertise on those subjects. Remember recruiters hear pitches that self-aggrandise on a daily basis. Its fair more effective to go straight into what is needed for a job and the technical aspects, as well as bond over some of the difficulties the role could throw up.
Make sure you attend the early part of the career fair or conference, when the recruiters or presenters are at their most attentive. The late moments of it are when their attention span tends to drop off. You also want to be energetic yourself, and enthusiastic. Try to smile more than you would.
How do I follow up at a career fair?
In the olden days a business card would be a good start. However this can be seen as quite naf and tacky, especially if you are not employed currently. Instead, try sharing your LinkedIn – this is the ideal opportunity to use social media as a way of presenting yourself in general. Make sure the recruiters have your professional accounts on each platform. You can read our guide to professional social media here.
Try to follow up the day after with the people you met. Thank them for their time and say that you are interested in following their work regardless of your career prospects – often, like in sales, convincing the party that you don’t really need them is actually a good strategy to make them more interested in you.
How to network remotely?
Remote career fairs since the Covid-19 crisis have come to the fore and its thus important that you also understand the basics of remote networking and attending events online. Remote career fairs are more like speed dating, where you talk to specific people for a set amount of time and have to thus strike an cord in a shorter, more strict amount of time.
Have a look at our advice for networking remotely so that you can also prepare yourself for the trials and tribulations of looking for work during a global pandemic in a more effective manner.