Recruiting Blog

Career Fair Tips

Career fairs.  The job search equivalent to speed dating, sometimes career fairs can be overwhelming (or underwhelming, depending on who’s there), frustrating (because you only spoke with a recruiter for a minute before someone else cut you off!), and confusing (Which company raises pigs and which one sells real estate?).  However, don’t fret – there are several tactics you can use to get the most out of your career fair experience (and maybe even walk away with a potential “match”).  These tips will turn your career fair experience from a horrific speed dating nightmare (Why’d you let your friend talk you into this, again?) into an enjoyable, exciting learning experience that you can really use to help you decide what’s right for your own future.

First tip: Plan ahead.  Be sure to get your hands on a list of which schools will be attending.  These lists are usually available at least a week ahead of the career fair date.  Don’t recognize some of the names?  Look online to find out the who, what, where, when, why, and how for each company.  This will not only help you prepare to interact with the companies that you’re interested in, but will also save you a lot of time interacting with those that you have no desire to pursue. 

Second tip: Be prepared to hand out your resume to at least one person at every company’s booth you visit.  Print lots of copies!  And please remember to proofread your resume carefully before distribution- it’s ok to have other people look it over just to double check the grammar and content.

Third tip: Be polite- not only to the company representative (obviously!), but to your fellow students as well.  We notice when folks shove their way to the front of the line or interrupt a person mid-sentence to introduce themselves.  We don’t particularly want to work with rude people, and I’m sure you wouldn’t either!  We DO want to work with polite, interesting, energetic people from all different backgrounds, with all different interests and all different skill sets.

Final tip: Get excited!  Career fairs are a perfect opportunity for you to meet tons of interesting people from many different companies in a condensed time period.  These in-person events can help you gain valuable information about company cultures and insights into the actual employees that you just can’t get by reading a company’s website (well, other than our outstanding Recruiting Blog, of course!).