The 5 Step Approach to Guarantee Success at the Career Fair

For many college students, the beginning of the year simply means the start of a new semester and a lot of cold weather.

However, for proactive students, the beginning of the year is also the start of searching for internships, co-ops, and full-time jobs once graduation comes around.

It is also during this time where universities will host career fairs on their campus and invite 100+ companies willing to speak (and even hire) students if they fulfill the company’s needs and values.

Unfortunately, many college students will mess up this golden opportunity when they attend these college fairs because of a lack of preparation. It is crucial that to maximize your chances to secure a job offer (or two or ten) that you prepare with time and follow these 5 steps to ensure success at your next career fair.

1) Clarity

Clarity?

Yes. Clarity.

You need absolute 20/20 vision on exactly which company caters to you and a clear image of how you can make the highest contribution to that company.

Having clarity doesn’t just guarantee you success at the career fair, but in life, because if you don’t know where you are going… someone else will pave your path.

For career fairs you need clarity for two reasons:

1. There is no way you can visit and speak to all the companies at your college career fair.
2. Even if you did, you would achieve little to nothing because every company is different.

The practical application here is to ask yourself the following questions:

What am I deeply passionate about?

What taps my talent?

What meets a significant need in the world?

Ask yourself these questions and truthfully answer them. The answers to these questions will then be the standard by which companies you will make it an absolute priority to speak to at the fair.

Naturally, the “fear of missing out” will kick in.

“What if I spoke to this company?” “What would’ve happened if I skipped X company and visited Y?” You get the point.

However, by knowing exactly what you want, you consequently know exactly what you don’t want.

A famous entrepreneur once said, “Success is like walking into a room with 1,000 doors and knowing which 999 to close.”

When your options are too broad, you will find yourself committing to too many options (trust me, I know this from experience).

However, when you choose to narrow down your choices, you then force yourself to make decisions logically, consciously, and rationally, rather than through impulse or emotion.

Clarity is power. And all things stem from this first point.

2. Resume

Well, now that we know exactly the type of job/company you want to be working with post-graduation, you have to then put yourself on a piece of paper.

Literally.

A resume is a succinct list of experiences, projects, and skills that have to scream and yell “Your Name Here”.

When attending the career fair, it is imperative that you hand out your resume like hotcakes.

Your resume is the memorabilia that will leave with recruiters and employers so they can remember who you are and to follow-up with you.

The biggest mistake students usually make on their resume:

1. More than one page
2. Crowded, minimal spacing and from afar looks like one block of text
3. Experience written in their job description is too broad and general for an employer to make a definite decision on the candidate.

For more tips on resume review, or to have your own resume reviewed, be sure to check out the resume packages at www.collegevsworld.com/resume

3. Elevator Pitch

This is exactly what it sounds like.

Imagine you get into an elevator with Warren Buffet or Jeff Bezos and begin ascending to the 50th floor. You literally have 30 seconds to “pitch” or sell yourself to them so they can hire you.

What would you say?

“Omg hello! My name is hiring… are you Nick?”

It is crucial that your elevator pitch be eloquent, smooth, yet natural (not something you memorized) and be composed of the following format:

1. Introduction (About Me): You want to be very basic to allow room for part 2, so just say your name, major, and the school you attend.
2. Experience showing “What I’ve done/What I know”: So this will vary tremendously from student to student. However, the key to really catching an employer’s ear from your elevator pitch is to state something you’ve done, something quantifiable and qualitative, and how that impacted you or the entity you did it for. (Example below)
3. What you are looking for/how to benefit the company/employer: Probably the most important part of the pitch, here you will literally close the deal in telling the employer what you want and tying that with a company demand.

Here’s an example:

(This would be an example of someone doing an elevator pitch to a marketing firm in need of social media intern.)

Hello! My name is John Snow and I am currently a marketing major at the University of Alabama. I have been part of the marketing team for the student senate, and have helped increase traffic to the Senate site by 25% in 2 months through paid advertisement and SEO optimization. I plan to graduate in one year and seeking a career in media marketing and sales.

This example hits all the points. John introduced himself, spoke about an experience where he benefited an organization, stated WHAT he did and HOW he did it. His closure was perfect in subliminally sliding his desire through a company demand.

4. Attire

This should go without mention, but this point will never fail to amaze me.

For guys, business formal with dress shoes, button-down shirt, tie, dress pants and a jacket.

For ladies, business formal with pants, heels, and a courteous top.

Be neutral with your colors.

You will prefer to stand out by how eloquent and professional you brand yourself to the employer rather than being remembered as “the guy/girl with the bright shirt.”

I do also want to mention briefly about professional relations protocol: giving a firm handshake, looking at the employer in the eye, smile, and avoid any kind of fidgeting.

Remember to ask follow-up questions and always remember that you must LISTEN to understand, not to respond.

5. Closure

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Out of many clients and friends that I’ve helped, I compare the closure to when you just met an attractive male/female and are about to ask for his/her number.

If the encounter went well and the opposite sex is feeling a mutual attraction, by all means, this is your cue to ask for the digits.

However, if you feel like during the time your encounter there was awkward silences and a weak conversation, its better you skip the question.

This same methodology applies to any networking event or career fair.

Only ask for the recruiter’s business card or LinkedIn profile if the conversation went well. This will give you momentous leverage above your collegiate peers in literally putting yourself inside the employer’s mind when it comes time to hire.

Recap

In retrospect, I still remember how afraid I was for my first career fair.

I had no experience in networking, in professional etiquette, and much less in keeping a conversation going.

But I say with a humble heart that I write as I write this sentence I have been offered a full-time position at a Fortune 500 company… as an undergraduate. I don’t say this boast, hell, I can’t even believe it myself.

However, I say this to prove that if I can do it, anyone can do it. It doesn’t matter who or where you come from, apply these five steps and you will see success coming your way.

(Article first appeared on Medium.com @ Nick Fuentes-Zuluaga)