You’ve had it marked on the calendar for months now. The day is quickly creeping up and suddenly you’re faced with stress, nervousness, and probably a lot of questions. Before the big day gets any closer, it’s time to start preparing to attend a career fair.
The Key to Career Fair Prep
It may seem like there are a lot of things you have to do when preparing for a career fair, but our most important advice is simple: plan ahead. These two simple words will be the key to your career fair success if you follow them.
As you take the time to plan ahead, you should focus on:
Having your resume written, proofed, and printed. A resume should not be thrown together the night before the career fair. This one page document is a snapshot of your education, experience, and accomplishments. It’s crucial that you work to make your resume professional. Don’t forget to make plenty of copies, as well! You don’t want to be short if a recruiter asks for one!
Being well-groomed, and having an outfit ready. You might be the type of guy who likes the shave the night before or maybe you are the type of woman who likes to have a fresh coat of nail polish before a big day, either way make sure you save yourself some time to get these done. The last thing you want to do is to be shaving in your car while driving to the career fair.Weeks prior to the career fair, plan your outfit accordingly. If you need to go shopping for new clothes, give yourself plenty of time!
Rehearsing your elevator pitch. It will take several times saying your pitch out loud to memorize it and feel confident when saying it to recruiters. Take days or weeks before the career fair to prepare your elevator pitch and rehearse it in the mirror.
Researching the companies that will be at the fair. This part of preparation is crucial to success when speaking with recruiters. Knowing who they are and what they do will make you stand out amongst other attendees. Reading up on some company news and happenings will go a long way. Using the Career Fair Plus app, you can quickly determine what companies will be at your career fair.
Plotting your course through the career fair. Attendees often find themselves overwhelmed at career fairs because there are so many booths to visit, with so little time. By researching companies in attendance and planning a route, you can visit companies most relevant to your career interests first. The digital map feature on the Career Fair Plus app gives you an inside look at the booth and exhibit setup. We also suggest creating a company priority list to help you determine what lines are worth waiting in.
Save Time with Skip The Line
You can even plan your day by scheduling interviews with recruiters and skipping the long waits at the booths. You don’t have to devote your entire day to waiting in line. Instead, you can plan your interviews with the companies and organizations you find most interesting. Take on career fairs like a pro with Skip The Line.
By using time management skills (important for the workforce), some thorough research, and helpful resources from Career Fair Plus, you can guarantee a rewarding career fair experience.
