Competing Successfully at Job Faires
Friday, January 29th, 2010Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your search. 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 Job Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job faires scheduled for 2010 across the US.
How do you stand out at a Job Fair? The contention can be significant, but you can help yourself jump out from the herd with advance preparation. At AA-Careers, we have a simple step-by-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the internet to check out the organizations that are there ahead of time. Go to their sites and see if they have their jobs posted. Pick a limited number to target, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than ten in a day, and five or six is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: executive names, recent news, and key product lines. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You should end up with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job postings on the web, read them to see what the organization is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the nomenclature match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring organization.
Third, create a ‘short sales pitch’ for each potential company/position combination. Write down a ninety second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud describing why you are a great candidate for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job booth.
Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re aiming for. 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 requirements. Especially at a Job Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious 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 tagged folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be fittingly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any eau de cologne or scent meagerly, if at all.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
