How to be successful at ALPFA Convention (or any event you're attending!)

2,000 students and professionals.

When you think of over a thousand attendees, what comes to mind?

You’re worried, you’re scared, you feel that there is competition. You feel incompetent, like you won't stand out.

But what if I told you that out of all the attendees, YOU can be successful.

How? In this article, I go into detail of exactly how to be successful at this year’s ALPFA Convention (or any networking/career event you attend in general!). Through these strategies, you can land offers from prestigious companies and leverage yourself when pursuing your career.

 I’ll break it down into 3 separate sections:

1. Preparing for the ALPFA Convention
2. What to do during the Convention/Event
3. Ending #JWoW

Preparing for the ALPFA Convention

During the months leading up to the ALPFA Convention, you should do the following: 

1. Research and Reach Out

Research the Companies that are attending ALPFA Convention and reach out to professionals. Utilize the Google Sheets I created here as seen below.

On the first tab of the Google Sheet, there are all of the companies that will be attending the Convention, whether it is at the Career Fair or hosting workshops. I've also included every companies’ careers website so if you do not know what positions the companies are recruiting for, you can see the open positions that may fit your qualifications which you can mention to professionals you interact with. 

On the second tab of the Google Sheets, I've categorized your Email/LinkedIn reach outs so it's easier for you to keep track of professionals you know and meet. Put down all the ALPFA professionals you currently know, whether you've connected in person or through LinkedIn. Then reach out to these professionals via email or LinkedIn message regarding the following:

• Will you be attending Convention? If so, could we meet up for coffee? (See example below)

• Update them on what you've been up to (in your career, ALPFA, personal life); then inform them that you'll be attending the ALPFA Convention this year. Ask for an update on their end as well as if they have time to chat (See example email/message below)

Building relationships. But not only building relationships, but maintaining them is the most important because we tend to never follow-up with those who have given us advice and mentorship in our careers. This is why I stress to always stay in touch with professionals you meet; by updating them once every 3 months (or every quarter), you are able to build rapport with professionals which can be useful down the road.

Lastly, utilize the ALPFA Convention app to find professionals who are attending the Convention in the specific companies/positions you are interested in. Find the professionals via the app, then add them on LinkedIn with a personal invite saying that you saw they will be attending the ALPFA Convention and would love to connect with them. Then you'll have even more connections to build relationships with!

2. Have multiple sets of eyes look at resume and elevator pitch

Have your resume reviewed by professionals, your school’s career center, your peers, etc. There will be resume review sessions at the Convention; however, if your resume stands out, the company will bring you to a private information session with limited students and more professionals.

Make sure to express the following in your resume:

• Relevant Experience: Put experience that is relevant to any positions/fields you will be going for. (Ex: If I am going for Accounting, I would want to express my experience in the Accounting field with Financial Statements, Excel, Quickbooks etc.)
• Achievements rather than duties assigned: Make sure to put bullet-points that show what you achieved on the job rather than something from a job description. Ex: If you’re going for sales, instead of putting “Sold clothes to consumers”, you can put “Influenced purchases of 100 shirts from store website, accumulating to an average of $1000 weekly revenue and beating sales quotas by 50%.” (See below an example of an average resume vs. a standout resume)

• Leadership: Leadership is vitally important to exemplify; if you are on ALPFA Board, this is KEY to helping you connect even more with professionals! Professionals love to hear about how you are a leader at your university and how you're involved with ALPFA, so make sure to show on your resume what ALPFA means to you.
• Skills: Portray skills in your resume that are relevant to the position or what you are looking for in your career. (Ex: If I am interested in Software Engineering (SWE), then I’d want to express how I know C++, Python, etc. in my resume through bulletpoints and in my skills section).
• Education: It is important to indicate what year you are in school (or if you graduated) so professionals/recruiters know where to place you and what you would qualify for. (Ex: Graduated students shouldn’t be looking for internships because those are for students still in school. They will be looking for full-time, entry-level positions)
• Know your elevator pitch: Elevator pitches are important because it shows the professional a brief glimpse of who you are, what makes you, you, what experiences you bring to the table, and how "human" you are (see below for an example).

3. Schedule interviews and volunteer:

Schedule interviews before the Convention; by doing this, you’ll have an edge and be able to prepare in advance.

1. Go on the ALPFA careers website here.
2. Attach your resume to your profile; recruiters/companies will be able to see your resume before the ALPFA Convention.
3. Find positions available on ALPFA website and apply to them; you can filter some of them by searching for specific programs or just "convention" (See example of a Financial Management Program below).

Check frequently on the ALPFA jobs website because they will send emails regarding setting up interview times if you fit qualifications.

Lastly, volunteer for workshops with companies that you are interested in, especially for the speaker positions. This will be a great talking point for you when speaking to a professional after the event.

Why Volunteer?

• Stand out: Professionals will remember who you are if you are one of the speakers, greeters, runners, etc. during their workshop.
• Great talking point: After volunteering, you can reach out to whoever was holding the workshop during the Convention and mention how you volunteered, which can then create a conversation (see below for example on how to reach out)

• You are a good person and want to give back :)

4. Know your interests and goals

Know your interests and what you want to do in your career, whether it is for an internship or full-time role. Here is the breakdown depending on what year you are at your university:

• Rising Sophomores: Internships, Leadership Programs, Externships
• Rising Juniors: Internships
• Rising Seniors: Full-Time roles after graduation (sometimes, internships are considered if you stay a 5th year)
• Graduated Students: Full-Time Entry Level roles

During the Convention/Event

During the ALPFA Convention, you should do the following:

1. Meet with professionals you connected with prior to Convention

This is why it's important to prepare before the Convention; by doing so, you can plan out exactly who to speak with and organize your time slots based off when you'll be meeting with a specific professional/company. Schedule meetups for 30 minutes with professionals to learn more about not only what they do but what their specific company is hiring for and if they can facilitate introductions for you.

2. Speak with strangers

If you see a professional standing by themselves, don't be afraid to speak with them! They are all here to network and recruit you for positions at their company. You can simply ask the following questions:

• How's your day been going so far?
• How has ALPFA Convention been for you?
• Do you need help with anything?
• Oh you work for ___? That's awesome! How has it been so far?

By starting a conversation, it can help you build more relationships and be introduced to more professionals. By doing so, you're able to build your confidence which will lead you to more opportunities to network and find jobs/internships.

3. Attend workshops and ask questions

It's not only important to attend the workshops of companies and topics you find interesting but to prepare for them. You should have a set itinerary of which workshops to go to and what time they are at so you know exactly where to go. Also, prepare questions at these workshops to learn more about the specific companies and topics:

Example of questions could be the following:

• Why do you love working at _____?
• You spoke about xyz, how does this relate to your day-to-day responsibilities at _____?
• I saw that you first were an Analyst at _______ and are now a manager. How is the career progression and advancement at ______?

After asking different questions, you can utilize this as a talking point when following up with the professionals. (See below for example)

4. Make a LinkedIn Post!

Make a LinkedIn Post about you at the ALPFA Convention on your first day there! This is important because then you'll have other students and professionals know you're at the Convention and they'll want to connect with you as well.

In your LinkedIn post, I suggest the following:

• Use Pictures: Take pictures, whether it is by yourself or with other students/professionals. This will give viewers a glimpse of what you look like, what you're wearing, etc. so they can spot you!
• Tag fellow ALPFAmilia: It's important to tag fellow students and professionals in your post; when they interact with your post, their connections will also see it and view your profile, thus creating organic networking with more ALPFAmilia.
• Tell a story: What brought you to the ALPFA Convention? Did you meet with someone who inspired/motivated you to get into your current career?
• Hashtag and tag companies: Some great hashtags include #ALPFA, #ALPFAConvention, #Career, and also tagging companies that you've met with or are excited to see.

When I attended the ALPFA Convention as a new grad, I strategized my LinkedIn post by setting up a 1 on 1 meeting with the ALPFA CEO; then I made a post about our interaction and tagged him in it, thus being seen by many ALPFA students and professionals who I was able to connect with (Hint: You can do the same too!)

Ending #JWoW

Here are is my ending words of wisdom for the ALPFA Convention:

1. Ask yourself these questions about the ALPFA Convention

• Why am I attending the ALPFA Convention? To learn? Build connections? Find a job/internship?
• What steps am I taking before Convention to land a job/internship?
• Am I here to connect with students and professionals? To find myself a mentor or sponsor/champion?
• How can my peers and professionals help me achieve these goals?

2. “Predict the future” and prepare.

When preparing for interviews, make sure to do the following:

• Write potential questions: Practice answering these questions, and it will help you move through the interview process. Example of these questions can be found here or below

• Use Glassdoor: Look at interviews for your specific positions. Find the interviews that seem legit (have the most “helpful”) and put the questions into a doc. They will also show how the interview process is like, which will give you a better understanding of how the company recruits (See example below)

Note: Look into what each company looks for in a potential candidate: Each company has values they are looking for specifically, which correlate directly with who they will want to hire.

3. Print resumes BEFORE Convention:

Print your resumes before the Convention because there will usually be long lines to use the hotel printer. What I'd recommend is print them on Resume Paper (it’s only a few cents more!) by going to Staples.

4. Have business cards and name tags:

Customize business cards at Staples or VistaPrint. Also, create name tags with your university so students and professionals are able to identify you more easier. It only costs about $20 but makes you look more professional and grows your branding at Convention!

Lastly, HAVE FUN and BE HUMAN at these events! By meeting more students and professionals, you are building your network, creating new relationships, and meeting new friends; as they say, your network is your net worth.

Feel free to add me here on LinkedIn if you have any questions or reach out to me at [email protected]. Please share this article with those attending ALPFA Convention or events to help them prepare!

#JWoW

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Jonathan Javier is a graduate from the University of California, Riverside. He has worked at prestigious companies in Strategy and Operations including Snapchat, Google, and currently Cisco. He is also the ALPFA National Ambassador Program Lead and works on a ton of different initiatives including #JWoW and #WeeklyWordsofWisdom. In total, he has led over 34 Career Development workshops, creating his own speaker series called #JWoWSpeakerSeries with over 17 speaker engagements already this year. He is passionate about making a difference in his community, especially the underdogs in today's society which correlates with his career consulting firm, Wonsulting, mission statement.

Please reach out if you're interested in hosting a workshop/event with me! Cheers ??

Speaker Inquiries: [email protected]