Job Fairs - A Different Approach
Sep 19th, 2008 by admin
By Aaron Boyce – www.abworkshopsarethebest.com
Job Fairs are one of the worst time wasters that have ever befallen a jobseeker. You wake up early, get professionally dressed, compile your resumes, and head off to the event, ready to speak with the employers. Not So Fast! As you turn the corner, you see a line the size of a football field, chock full of job hopefuls like yourself. Do the math – 100 employers inside; 2000 jobseekers outside. Someone is going home unhappy. But not you, you think, as you take your place in the line from Hades. 45 minutes later you are inside and ready to speak with the employers. Not So Fast! There are at least 20 – 30 jobseekers already there. You see a company you like and you squeeze in, ready to speak with the employers. And you do – for all of two minutes (if you’re lucky). Meanwhile, the employer is being distracted by the ten other candidates asking him questions, by the cute girl who just passed by, and by the clock that is beckoning him closer and closer to the lunch line. After a few hours of this, the job fair is closing and you haven’t even completed half the room. Okay, the employers you did speak with all have your resume. So you go home and wait for them to call you. The (not so happy) End. There has to be a better way. Try these seven tips.
1. Find out who will be in attendance before you go to the event. You can plan a strategy around this information.
2. Arrive no more than an hour before or after lunch. Like all of us, food has a way of stopping the brain from working and the ears from listening.
3. Walk around the room first without speaking to anyone. See where the employers are that you want to speak with. If you do see an employer that you covet, and they are available to speak, you may break this rule.
4. Stand in front of the employer you are speaking with. Coolly block their vision away from the crowd and onlookers. Speak clearly and with purpose. Look them in the face and they will respond back.
5. Get their business cards. Ask if they are the person in charge of the particular department of position you will be applying for. If not, ask for the name and write it on the card. Pick up as much information from the table as possible. Even pick up stuff that does not directly pertain to you. Everything you can know about the company will help you get the job.
6. Give them your business card. You don’t have a business card? Make one and bring them. By the way, the card I mean is a mini-resume that you can distribute along with your resume.
7. Send everyone you speak with a thank you note. Employers at job fairs NEVER get thank you notes. When they do get one (from you) they will seek you out.
These seven steps will guarantee that your adventures in Job Fair Land will provide a rewarding experience that will ultimately lead you to employment.
Aaron Boyce, founder of ABworkshops, national columnist for examiner.com, and author of four publications, travels across the country spreading his message of success through self-motivation and self-awareness. A stutterer since the age of nine, Aaron had overcome the pain of rejection, humiliation, and self-loathing to become a powerful, motivational, and dynamic speaker and trainer on the issues of career development and employment. His message,