Getting Real Interviews at Job Fairs
Standing out at a Job Faire can make a difference in your job hunting. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a SF Bay Area Career Fair in January, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for 2010 across the United States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Faire? The rivalry can be substantial, but you can help yourself surpass from the herd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified step-by-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, research the organizations that are going and pick your objectives. Use the World Wide Web to research the companies that are there before you go. Go to their websites and see if they have their job openings listed. Pick a rational number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 10 in a day, and three to five is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and exectuve names. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the demands of the job. Make the language match. If the hiring organization calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring company.
Third, create a ‘mini sales pitch’ for each likely organization/job combination. Write down a sixty second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally describing why you are a great candidate for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the company at the job kiosk.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job description. Especially at a Job Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be simple to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, practice your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be well groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or perfume sparingly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
