The Lion’s Pride: Networking - Networking at Job Fairs

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The Lion’s Pride: Networking

Networking at Job Fairs

Going to the job fair?

You're not alone. Even at small job fairs, chances are you'll be competing against hordes of people for the same job. So how do you make the most of the fair?

Prep work. The first question to ask is: "Is it a general fair or industry-specific?" This may determine whether you should go or not (e.g. you're an LPN and it's a tech job fair). If at all possible, get a list of all the employers who will be present and hit their web sites for a little old-fashioned cramming. Know their products well enough to ask intelligent questions. Knowing which employers will be there also helps you prioritize from "most desired" down to "not so much." Also make sure you have more resumes than you think you'll need. Ditto, multiple copies of your portfolio on CD.

Set goals. Quantify the number of recruiters you want to talk to, resumes you want to circulate, information you want to obtain, how many fellow job hunters you want to network with, and interviews you want to land. Keep your goals realistic, but don't undersell yourself, either.

Your pitch. This was known as the "Elevator Speech" not so long ago. The basic premise is to come up with a 20 second pitch to sell yourself. This has been used and abused badly; job hunters wound up sounding like recordings, packing in as much information as possible, only to give recruiters information overload. A better way to go is to tailor your pitch by asking the recruiter what qualifications they're looking for, then, once they respond, mentioning two or three similarities to your skills set. This appears more natural because it is more natural - and it will set you apart.

What to do with their business cards. Make a small joke about how busy they will be for the next two days and ask permission to follow up in three days. Ask if they would prefer contact by phone or email. Take a moment after each conversation to jot down the main points you discussed with your new contact.

Follow up. Just as the recruiter's real work starts after the job fair, so does yours. It's in your best interest to follow up when you agreed you would. Use your back-of-the-business-card notes to jog the recruiter's memory (they probably saw a lot of people during the fair).

Job fairs can be gold mines for job hunters, but it's not easy. With a little elbow grease, though, you can set yourself ahead of your competitors.

IN THE CARAVAN: Make the most out of your job fair experiences by doing some prep work, setting goals, developing on-the-fly pitches, taking notes and following up.

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