5 Tips to Enhance Your Career Fair Experience

By Balachander Ramachandran on September 17, 2014

It is that time of the year again, when the campus is bustling with companies eager to grab talented students. These are organized by the respective department’s career services team. I recently attended an Engineering Employment Expo conducted by the Engineering Career Services.

If there was any reason to be scared or anxious, it would surely be the number of companies in attendance. From startups to tech giants, all of them left no stone unturned to woo students. There was even some cool t-shirts and swag being given out.

source: en.wikipedia.org

Here are 5 things that will enhance your career fair experience.

  1. Do your research. More often than not this pays off. Knowing more about the company’s area of work, new products and work culture will help you be prepared when speaking to the company recruiters. It will also let them know that you are seriously interested in them.
  2. Do not shove your resume in their face. Instead, try starting off with an introduction and move towards a casual conversation. After this point, either politely offer your resume or wait for them to ask as some companies might require you to submit them online. It also pays to see what the trend is while waiting in line for your turn.
  3. Dress appropriately. First impressions do matter and it doesn’t hurt to be well dressed. Although software companies are more free with their dress code, the career fair is a mixture of companies from all industries. A good set of formals (blazer optional) is a safe bet.
  4. Explore. You have to admit that your dream company is going to hire only limited individuals and there is a chance that you may not make the cut. So it is always better to explore other companies, new and established companies alike. You might stumble upon something interesting.
  5. Lastly don’t forget to smile! You are nervous, they are nervous, everyone’s nervous! So a smile will go a long way in not only putting you and them at ease, but also telling them you are confident about yourself.

Also, if you can, try to make it to the info session organized by these companies either before or after the fair. It will provide you with a chance to meet some of their current employees and managers and learn more about the company.

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