Prepare NOW for Career Fair Success (i.e., Interview Callbacks)

Engineering/STEM career fairs will be taking place again across the U.S. very soon.

If you're serious about graduating in the future with multiple top job offers already in hand, or if you're seeking an internship, then you definitely need to be attending the fair(s) at your school.

However, rather than just showing up as another warm body in attendance, you need to invest NOW in upfront preparation. My goal with this article is to help you do just that.

Please trust me on this, as a former engineering recruiter for John Deere, I know that if you're not properly prepared, the various company recruiters and reps you meet will probably write you off in a heartbeat. Why? Because lack of preparation for a career fair is easy to spot and it makes a statement about what kind of employee you might be if hired.

Some Awesome Prep Help For You

I was planning to write up my own suggestions for you based on my past experience as an engineering student, as an intern, and later as a corporate recruiter, but instead I decided to leverage five excellent YouTube videos posted by my alma mater (Iowa State University College of Engineering).

Each of the videos below are only 2-3 minutes long, but they are chock full of outstanding advice. And something I really like is that it's being shared by students just like you. These aren't highly polished corporate type videos. These are real students giving you real advice that you can trust and take to the bank. 

If you're serious about "knocking them dead" at the career fair, I strongly urge you to watch these videos, take notes, and then take action on the suggestions long before your career fair arrives. To help you out, I've listed the key points below each video.

 Career Fair Prep Video #1: Researching Companies

• Good company research will let you ask insightful questions and feel more confident
• Review the list of companies coming and the jobs/skills they're seeking
• Use your research to help differentiate your conversations with the recruiters
• Don't be afraid to use notes to help you remember what to ask
• Investigate and ask about company cultures

Career Fair Prep Video #2: Your Resume

• Have 20-25 copies with you (fancy paper isn't necessary)
• Be sure your info is updated and current (e.g., GPA, work experience, etc.)
• Include an objectives statement (either simple or targeted)
• Keep to one page, and obviously print ahead of time
• Bulleted statements should include tasks, skills used, impact of project
• Resume is a relationship starter with the goal of getting an interview

WARNING from Don!......READ THIS and DO THIS TOO!

Don't focus only on updating your printed resume. Your LinkedIn Profile must also be fine tuned and polished before you step foot in the career fair.

Why? Because any recruiter who's interested in you will most certainly scan your LinkedIn Profile (and possibly your entire online presence). LinkedIn is a hugely popular online resource today for recruiters and hiring managers. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by ignoring this fact.

Career Fair Prep Video #3: Logistics

• Pick your clothes ahead of time and insure they're clean and pressed
• If needed, plan for transportation to and from the fair
• Pre-register for the fair if possible
• Prepare a packet containing all relevant company info and a map
• Complete all your prep tasks far in advance of the fair

Career Fair Prep Video #4: Elevator Speech

• Firm handshake and eye contact should precede your conversation
• 30-40 seconds is all you need for this conversation
• Goal is not to recite info that's on your resume
• Steer the conversation in your favor
• Craft your speech and practice, practice, practice ahead of time
• Smile and exude confidence

Career Fair Prep Video #5: Fair Booth Interactions

• Start with companies that aren't at the top of your list
• Greet recruiter with a smile and handshake
• Initiate a conversation with your elevator speech
• Make eye contact, be pleasant, confident and interested
• Let recruiter ask for your resume
• Offer examples of previous work experiences and positive outcomes
• Don't take rejection personally...stay upbeat

Finally, here are some Things NOT To Do At A Career Fair that I wrote about in a previous blog post.

Hold on.....here's one more thing you must do before the fair........get yourself a business card.

Read THIS LINKEDIN Article to learn why.

Career Fairs Are The Critical First Step

From my experience, I believe a lot of students fail to realize how critically important career fairs are in the entire "life cycle" of their engineering/STEM college education.

Career fairs truly are the starting point on the journey towards securing internships while you're in college, and multiple full-time job offers during your senior year before graduation. As a result, you need to get really good at engaging and wowing recruiters at career fairs.

Don't cheat yourself. Put in the preparation effort now so you can earn the bigger payoff later!

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Thanks for reading. I'm Don Gallagher, founder of the engineering/STEM career and soft skills development site: EngineeringCareerLauncher.com.

Educated as a mechanical engineer, I spent 25 years in engineering, recruiting, training, sales and marketing roles with John Deere. Today I have a passion for helping engineering (and other STEM) students start and build remarkable careers. 

If you found this article helpful, you might also like my FREE 57-page STRAIGHT TALK GUIDE titled, DOMINATING YOUR INTERNSHIP: 7.5 Secrets to Creating an Awesome and Invaluable Experience as an Engineering or STEM Intern.

There are other free GUIDES and resources in the ECL Learning Store.