Preparation (before the interview)
Preparation will make or break your interview. This may sound obvious, but too often it's overlooked. I've interviewed many applicants that walked into an interview without knowing about the industry and the company. Below are some simple steps to help you prepare for the interview.
Personal - Know your own qualifications and how they relate to the position. Review your skills and the character traits you have that will help the company's bottom line. Mentally review your past achievements and be prepared to describe your work experience in detail.
Almost every interviewer will ask you: "Tell me about yourself." When answering, put yourself in the employer's shoes. If you were hiring someone for the position, what would you want to know?
Industry - Know everything you can about the industry. Find out as much as you can about the position, the company and its needs. Knowing these facts will enable you to prove how your background meets those needs. Research the company on the Internet and at your local library. Check social networking sites to see if your friends are connected to anyone that can help your investigation.
Employers are as interested in your questions as they are in your answers. It is a huge plus if you ask intelligent questions about the position, the company and the industry.
First Impression (at the interview)
The first few minutes are critical. They will set the tone for the interview. Project enthusiasm about the position, show confidence and competence. Your goal is to convince the interviewer that you would be an asset to the company.
Visual Image - Dress appropriately for the position you're seeking. Your attire must fit well within the office. Don't wear a suit to a creative agency or jeans to a legal firm. If you don't know what the typical attire at the company is, ask when setting up the interview. Your shoes should be polished; pants/skirts and shirts pressed. Clean hair and fingernails are essential. Avoid excessive cologne, jewelry or make-up.
Be Prompt - Be on time! Allow extra time for traffic, parking and slow elevators. Do whatever it takes to arrive a few minutes early. If necessary, drive to the company the night before and time yourself. Late arrival for a job interview is never excusable.
The Interview (at the interview)
Do not rely on your application or resume to do the selling for you. Interviewers will want you to speak for yourself. Your resume was most likely pre-screened by the HR department, and your interviewer hasn't even seen your resume. Sell yourself! When you are answering the interviewers questions, look the prospective employer in the eye while speaking. Show enthusiasm; enthusiastic feedback can enhance your chances of being considered. The bottom line is that you want appear confident with yourself and your background.
Don't inquire about salary, vacations, bonuses, retirement, etc., on the initial interview unless you are sure the employer is interested in hiring you. If the interviewer asks what salary you want, indicate what you've earned but that you're more interested in opportunity than in a specific salary. Also check the salary range for the position using our salary tool.
Follow-up (after the interview)
Often overlooked, the follow-up is the final step in the interviewing process. It's essential that you send a thank you letter after an interview to every person you met at the company (remember to ask for business cards). In your letter, summarize your conversation and re-emphasize the skills you would bring to the position. If you are interested in the position, avoid sending a generic thank you letter. Include reasons why you are the perfect candidate for the job. Chances are that 100's of people are interviewing for the same position that you did so you'll want to draw from unique qualifications to stand out and be remembered.
Letter of Recommendation (after the interview)
A letter of recommendation may be requested by an employer during the application process. The letter of recommendation is written by an employer, coworker or qualified friend, and basically serves as a written reference for your past accomplishments and on-the-job performance. To review more information on letters of recommendation and how to compose a letter of recommendation, please review our letter of recommendation examples and definition section within the FAQs.
Personal References (after the interview)
Personal references are fairly self explanatory. These are people that will speak to your personal attributes as well as your on-the-job performance. Usually, you would include current or former coworkers, subordinates and bosses as references. Before providing names and phone numbers, touch base with each of your references to insure they are willing to provide a reference. Not doing this could cost you a job. A common question for your references will be: if given the chance, would you hire this person / work with or for them again? Be sure that you know what your referral will say. Usually potential employers will ask for three personal references, however some companies will require more during the selection process.
Read more
Do research about the company
Be familiar with some of these basic interview questions
1. Can you tell me about yourself?
2. What are your strengths and weakness?
3. Why should I hire you?
4. What do you know about this company?
5. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
6. Can you tell about a conflict or problem you had on the job and what the outcome was?
7. Why did you leave your last job?
8. What salary are you looking for?
9. How would your last supervisor describe your work performance?
10. What are you most proud of?
11. When were you most satisfied at your job?
12. Why do you want to work for this company?
Practice interviewing
Be prepared for a telephone interview
Know your skills and abilities—what you have to offer the employer
Dress professionally
Be enthusiastic and positive during the interview
Smile and give eye contact
Speak correct English – no slang
Get the interviewer's business card
Take time to write a thank you note
Follow up after the interview
Preparation will make or break your interview. This may sound obvious, but too often it's overlooked. I've interviewed many applicants that walked into an interview without knowing about the industry and the company. Below are some simple steps to help you prepare for the interview.
Personal - Know your own qualifications and how they relate to the position. Review your skills and the character traits you have that will help the company's bottom line. Mentally review your past achievements and be prepared to describe your work experience in detail.
Almost every interviewer will ask you: "Tell me about yourself." When answering, put yourself in the employer's shoes. If you were hiring someone for the position, what would you want to know?
Industry - Know everything you can about the industry. Find out as much as you can about the position, the company and its needs. Knowing these facts will enable you to prove how your background meets those needs. Research the company on the Internet and at your local library. Check social networking sites to see if your friends are connected to anyone that can help your investigation.
Employers are as interested in your questions as they are in your answers. It is a huge plus if you ask intelligent questions about the position, the company and the industry.
First Impression (at the interview)
The first few minutes are critical. They will set the tone for the interview. Project enthusiasm about the position, show confidence and competence. Your goal is to convince the interviewer that you would be an asset to the company.
Visual Image - Dress appropriately for the position you're seeking. Your attire must fit well within the office. Don't wear a suit to a creative agency or jeans to a legal firm. If you don't know what the typical attire at the company is, ask when setting up the interview. Your shoes should be polished; pants/skirts and shirts pressed. Clean hair and fingernails are essential. Avoid excessive cologne, jewelry or make-up.
Be Prompt - Be on time! Allow extra time for traffic, parking and slow elevators. Do whatever it takes to arrive a few minutes early. If necessary, drive to the company the night before and time yourself. Late arrival for a job interview is never excusable.
The Interview (at the interview)
Do not rely on your application or resume to do the selling for you. Interviewers will want you to speak for yourself. Your resume was most likely pre-screened by the HR department, and your interviewer hasn't even seen your resume. Sell yourself! When you are answering the interviewers questions, look the prospective employer in the eye while speaking. Show enthusiasm; enthusiastic feedback can enhance your chances of being considered. The bottom line is that you want appear confident with yourself and your background.
Don't inquire about salary, vacations, bonuses, retirement, etc., on the initial interview unless you are sure the employer is interested in hiring you. If the interviewer asks what salary you want, indicate what you've earned but that you're more interested in opportunity than in a specific salary. Also check the salary range for the position using our salary tool.
Follow-up (after the interview)
Often overlooked, the follow-up is the final step in the interviewing process. It's essential that you send a thank you letter after an interview to every person you met at the company (remember to ask for business cards). In your letter, summarize your conversation and re-emphasize the skills you would bring to the position. If you are interested in the position, avoid sending a generic thank you letter. Include reasons why you are the perfect candidate for the job. Chances are that 100's of people are interviewing for the same position that you did so you'll want to draw from unique qualifications to stand out and be remembered.
Letter of Recommendation (after the interview)
A letter of recommendation may be requested by an employer during the application process. The letter of recommendation is written by an employer, coworker or qualified friend, and basically serves as a written reference for your past accomplishments and on-the-job performance. To review more information on letters of recommendation and how to compose a letter of recommendation, please review our letter of recommendation examples and definition section within the FAQs.
Personal References (after the interview)
Personal references are fairly self explanatory. These are people that will speak to your personal attributes as well as your on-the-job performance. Usually, you would include current or former coworkers, subordinates and bosses as references. Before providing names and phone numbers, touch base with each of your references to insure they are willing to provide a reference. Not doing this could cost you a job. A common question for your references will be: if given the chance, would you hire this person / work with or for them again? Be sure that you know what your referral will say. Usually potential employers will ask for three personal references, however some companies will require more during the selection process.
Read more
Do research about the company
Be familiar with some of these basic interview questions
1. Can you tell me about yourself?
2. What are your strengths and weakness?
3. Why should I hire you?
4. What do you know about this company?
5. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
6. Can you tell about a conflict or problem you had on the job and what the outcome was?
7. Why did you leave your last job?
8. What salary are you looking for?
9. How would your last supervisor describe your work performance?
10. What are you most proud of?
11. When were you most satisfied at your job?
12. Why do you want to work for this company?
Practice interviewing
Be prepared for a telephone interview
Know your skills and abilities—what you have to offer the employer
Dress professionally
Be enthusiastic and positive during the interview
Smile and give eye contact
Speak correct English – no slang
Get the interviewer's business card
Take time to write a thank you note
Follow up after the interview
While the popularity of online job boards puts millions of jobs at one's fingertips, it has also made the job applicant pool that much bigger. For this reason, national job search sites and the Internet as a whole have gotten a bad rap from some industry professionals as an ineffective job seeker tool; on the contrary, the Internet actually can be a great resource for job seekers -- they just need to know how to use it.
When it comes to a fruitful online job search, successful job seekers follow these 10 guidelines.
1. If you build it, they can come.
Instead of simply posting your resume on a Web site, take it one step further and design an easily-navigable Web site or online portfolio where recruiters can view your body of work, read about your goals and obtain contact information.
2. Check yourself to make sure you haven't wrecked yourself.
Google yourself to see what comes up -- and what potential employers will see if they do the same. If you don't like what you find, it's time to do damage control.
3. Narrow your options.
Many job boards offer filters to help users refine their search results more quickly. You should have the option to narrow your job search by region, industry and duration, and, oftentimes, you can narrow it even more by keywords, company names, experience needed and salary.
4. Go directly to the source.
Instead of just applying for the posted job opening, one of the best strategies to finding a job is to first figure out where you want to work, target that company or industry and then contact the hiring manager. Also, many employers' career pages invite visitors to fill out candidate profiles, describing their background, jobs of interest, salary requirements and other preferences.
5. Find your niche with industry Web sites.
Refine your search even more by visiting your industry's national or regional Web site, where you can find jobs in your field that might not appear on a national job board. More and more employers are advertising jobs on these sites in hopes of getting a bigger pool of qualified applicants.
6. Try online recruiters.
Recruiters will help match you with jobs that meet your specific skills and needs. Not sure where to start? Sites such as recruiterlink.com, onlinerecruitersdirectory.com, searchfirm.com and i-recruit.com provide links to online headhunters for job seekers.
7. Utilize video resumes.
Video resumes are just one more way to stand out to employers. Intended as supplements to -- not replacements for -- traditional resumes, video resumes allow job seekers to showcase a little bit of their personalities and highlight one or two points of interest on their resumes.
8. Run queries.
You run searches on everything else, from your high school sweetheart to low-fat recipes, so why not jobs? Enter a query that describes the exact kind of job you're seeking and you may find more resources you wouldn't find otherwise (but be prepared to do some sorting).
9. Utilize job alerts.
Most job boards have features that allow you to sign up to receive e-mail alerts about newly available jobs that match your chosen criteria. Or go a step further and arrange an RSS (really simple syndication) feed from one of these job sites to appear on your customized Internet homepage or your PC's news-reader software.
10. Get connected.
How many times have you been told that it's not what you know, but who you know? Thanks to the emergence of professional networking sites like LinkedIn.com, job seekers no longer have to rely on the old standby of exchanging business cards with strangers. These sites are composed of millions of industry professionals and allow you to connect with people you know and the people they know and so forth. (A word of caution: When you sign up for online social networking sites, you are in a public domain. Unless you are able to put a filter on some of your information, nothing is private, and it can be difficult to erase once it is posted.)
When it comes to a fruitful online job search, successful job seekers follow these 10 guidelines.
1. If you build it, they can come.
Instead of simply posting your resume on a Web site, take it one step further and design an easily-navigable Web site or online portfolio where recruiters can view your body of work, read about your goals and obtain contact information.
2. Check yourself to make sure you haven't wrecked yourself.
Google yourself to see what comes up -- and what potential employers will see if they do the same. If you don't like what you find, it's time to do damage control.
3. Narrow your options.
Many job boards offer filters to help users refine their search results more quickly. You should have the option to narrow your job search by region, industry and duration, and, oftentimes, you can narrow it even more by keywords, company names, experience needed and salary.
4. Go directly to the source.
Instead of just applying for the posted job opening, one of the best strategies to finding a job is to first figure out where you want to work, target that company or industry and then contact the hiring manager. Also, many employers' career pages invite visitors to fill out candidate profiles, describing their background, jobs of interest, salary requirements and other preferences.
5. Find your niche with industry Web sites.
Refine your search even more by visiting your industry's national or regional Web site, where you can find jobs in your field that might not appear on a national job board. More and more employers are advertising jobs on these sites in hopes of getting a bigger pool of qualified applicants.
6. Try online recruiters.
Recruiters will help match you with jobs that meet your specific skills and needs. Not sure where to start? Sites such as recruiterlink.com, onlinerecruitersdirectory.com, searchfirm.com and i-recruit.com provide links to online headhunters for job seekers.
7. Utilize video resumes.
Video resumes are just one more way to stand out to employers. Intended as supplements to -- not replacements for -- traditional resumes, video resumes allow job seekers to showcase a little bit of their personalities and highlight one or two points of interest on their resumes.
8. Run queries.
You run searches on everything else, from your high school sweetheart to low-fat recipes, so why not jobs? Enter a query that describes the exact kind of job you're seeking and you may find more resources you wouldn't find otherwise (but be prepared to do some sorting).
9. Utilize job alerts.
Most job boards have features that allow you to sign up to receive e-mail alerts about newly available jobs that match your chosen criteria. Or go a step further and arrange an RSS (really simple syndication) feed from one of these job sites to appear on your customized Internet homepage or your PC's news-reader software.
10. Get connected.
How many times have you been told that it's not what you know, but who you know? Thanks to the emergence of professional networking sites like LinkedIn.com, job seekers no longer have to rely on the old standby of exchanging business cards with strangers. These sites are composed of millions of industry professionals and allow you to connect with people you know and the people they know and so forth. (A word of caution: When you sign up for online social networking sites, you are in a public domain. Unless you are able to put a filter on some of your information, nothing is private, and it can be difficult to erase once it is posted.)
A tough job market means piles of applications for open positions, so it is no surprise that hiring managers are looking for ways to screen candidates quickly.
"Recruiters typically devote only 10-15 seconds to read any resume," says Wil Lemire, director of career services at Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. To make that precious time count, job seekers need to create concise, attention-grabbing profiles that make employers want to know more.
Things to include
"Some people refer to the professional summary as the resume equivalent of a 30-second sales pitch or an elevator speech," says Carolyn Yencharis Corcoran, assistant director of the Insalaco Center for Career Development at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. "We recommend that our students take great care in writing this area, as it is yet another way for them to demonstrate their ability to communicate pointedly and efficiently and to exude professionalism by using industry-specific keywords in the proper context."
Experts generally favor the profile being placed right under contact information at the top of a resume. (This well-crafted skills summary also can prove useful as a networking intro or as part of an online profile.) Among the items candidates may wish to include are:
Keywords that match those of the job description
Hard skills (professional and technical experience)
Soft skills (persona attributes)
Advanced degrees
Years of experience
Interesting achievements
Anything that sets one apart from other candidates
"Like any other section of your resume, the professional summary requires some self-reflection, time and attention," Corcoran says. To get the creative juices flowing, she suggests:
Asking co-workers, family members, professors and friends what qualities they like most about you.
Thinking about positive comments you've received from employers or teachers.
Reflecting on awards received.
Remembering instances where you handled an emergency, presented or taught something, made something more efficient or contributed to a change.
Things to avoid
Cynthia Favre, director of career management at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn., offers this precaution when creating a summary: "Don't include things that most everyone can do (such as use the Internet or Word). It actually makes the candidate look like he doesn't have useful skills."
Favre also cautions against using vague adjectives, such as "excellent" and "great." "Such words encourage the reader to compare the candidate with others. Take the phrase 'an excellent communicator.' Compared to whom? Barack Obama? Your college roommate? It is better to state the skills as factually as possible and let the reader determine if they are excellent and of value to him."
Putting your best self forward
While seasoned workers can use their skills summary to describe past job accomplishments, novice job seekers often worry that they will appear lacking. While it is inevitable that different candidates will bring different attributes to the table, the main thing is to focus on what you can contribute.
"It's important that the job seeker know what the job requirements are in order to properly sort and rank his own knowledge, skills and abilities," Lemire says. "Recent graduates should use skills and knowledge gained from part-time jobs and summer jobs, internships, classroom projects and activities on and off campus."
Corcoran agrees that it is up to each individual to identify and present her own strengths. "While a seasoned worker will have more hands-on experience to include in a professional summary, new grads will want to highlight the things that set them apart -- such as possessing skills in the newest and latest technology, energy and drive, openness to multiple areas and an eagerness to learn."
Remember that whether this is your first job or your tenth, you only have a bit of space to get yourself noticed. Choose your words carefully, and chances are an employer will want to hear more.
Omit the objective from the resume.
Cut out all the irrelevant work experience.
Take a pass on the personal stuff: marital status, religious and political preference, ethnicity, and social security number.
Don't let your resume exceed one page.
Don't list your hobbies.
Don't give them a chance to guess your age - remove dates of graduation if over six years and highest degree if it is not relevant to the position.
Don't write your resume in the third person, instead in the first person.
Don't include references.
Include professional e-mail address, not gobaby@yahoo.com or bigdog@verizon.net.
There's no need to identify e-mail and phone numbers, just list them.
Don't include your current business contact information.
Things to include
"Some people refer to the professional summary as the resume equivalent of a 30-second sales pitch or an elevator speech," says Carolyn Yencharis Corcoran, assistant director of the Insalaco Center for Career Development at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. "We recommend that our students take great care in writing this area, as it is yet another way for them to demonstrate their ability to communicate pointedly and efficiently and to exude professionalism by using industry-specific keywords in the proper context."
Experts generally favor the profile being placed right under contact information at the top of a resume. (This well-crafted skills summary also can prove useful as a networking intro or as part of an online profile.) Among the items candidates may wish to include are:
Keywords that match those of the job description
Hard skills (professional and technical experience)
Soft skills (persona attributes)
Advanced degrees
Years of experience
Interesting achievements
Anything that sets one apart from other candidates
"Like any other section of your resume, the professional summary requires some self-reflection, time and attention," Corcoran says. To get the creative juices flowing, she suggests:
Asking co-workers, family members, professors and friends what qualities they like most about you.
Thinking about positive comments you've received from employers or teachers.
Reflecting on awards received.
Remembering instances where you handled an emergency, presented or taught something, made something more efficient or contributed to a change.
Things to avoid
Cynthia Favre, director of career management at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn., offers this precaution when creating a summary: "Don't include things that most everyone can do (such as use the Internet or Word). It actually makes the candidate look like he doesn't have useful skills."
Favre also cautions against using vague adjectives, such as "excellent" and "great." "Such words encourage the reader to compare the candidate with others. Take the phrase 'an excellent communicator.' Compared to whom? Barack Obama? Your college roommate? It is better to state the skills as factually as possible and let the reader determine if they are excellent and of value to him."
Putting your best self forward
While seasoned workers can use their skills summary to describe past job accomplishments, novice job seekers often worry that they will appear lacking. While it is inevitable that different candidates will bring different attributes to the table, the main thing is to focus on what you can contribute.
"It's important that the job seeker know what the job requirements are in order to properly sort and rank his own knowledge, skills and abilities," Lemire says. "Recent graduates should use skills and knowledge gained from part-time jobs and summer jobs, internships, classroom projects and activities on and off campus."
Corcoran agrees that it is up to each individual to identify and present her own strengths. "While a seasoned worker will have more hands-on experience to include in a professional summary, new grads will want to highlight the things that set them apart -- such as possessing skills in the newest and latest technology, energy and drive, openness to multiple areas and an eagerness to learn."
Remember that whether this is your first job or your tenth, you only have a bit of space to get yourself noticed. Choose your words carefully, and chances are an employer will want to hear more.
Omit the objective from the resume.
Cut out all the irrelevant work experience.
Take a pass on the personal stuff: marital status, religious and political preference, ethnicity, and social security number.
Don't let your resume exceed one page.
Don't list your hobbies.
Don't give them a chance to guess your age - remove dates of graduation if over six years and highest degree if it is not relevant to the position.
Don't write your resume in the third person, instead in the first person.
Don't include references.
Include professional e-mail address, not gobaby@yahoo.com or bigdog@verizon.net.
There's no need to identify e-mail and phone numbers, just list them.
Don't include your current business contact information.
1. Pre-register. Some job fairs allow job-seekers to pre-register for the event, which usually includes submitting a resume or summary resume. With more fairs going to the Web, pre-registration will most likely become even more common. The idea behind pre-registering, of course, is that employers get a chance to prescreen applicants and possibly make note of applicants they want to meet at the fair. Does pre-registration guarantee that you will get noticed or that employers will even look at the registrations? No, but why would you not take advantage of such an easy step?
2. Research. Many job-seekers go to fairs to "see the sights" and are not prepared to interview. You can get a huge jump on the competition by getting a list of the companies attending the fair and doing some research on each of the companies you want to interview with; don't waste time with companies that do not interest you. While all of the recruiters will have company literature at their booths at the fair, you often can't access those until after the interview. With so much information about companies on the Web, there is no excuse not to do your homework.
3. Resumes. Bring lots of resumes to the fair -- at least two for each company for which you have an interest. If you have multiple interests or job objectives, make sure you bring enough of each version of your resume.
4. Portfolios. More and more career experts are emphasizing the importance of career portfolios. These portfolios should include copies of your resumes, a list of references, and samples of your best work. While most career fair interviews are fairly short, there may be opportunities for discussing your portfolio with a recruiter -- either over a short break or meal or during a second interview on-site. It is best to always be prepared no matter what happens.
5. Attire. Conservative business attire is essential because image and first impressions are critical. Know what is the expected attire of your profession and dress accordingly. It is always better to be overdressed than underdressed.
6. Strategy. You need to devise a strategy or plan of attack for the fair. You've already done the first step by researching the companies you are interested in. The second step is seeing if any new companies have registered when you arrive at the fair. The third step is surveying the layout of the fair and determining an order of interviewing. Some experts suggest meeting with your top choices first thing in the morning, interviewing with your other choices in the middle of the day, and returning to your top choices at the end of the day to thank them again for their time. But remember to stay flexible as your top choices may be the top choices of many, creating long lines that you may wish to avoid.
7. Interviewing. You may only have two to five minutes to market yourself and protect yourself from being screened out, thus you need to make the most of your time. Many experts suggest that you develop a one-minute "commercial" that highlights the key benefits that you can offer the organization -- and then use it at the beginning of the interview. Also remember the three keys to all interviews: make eye contact, offer a firm handshake, and show enthusiasm. You should also prepare answers to interview questions just as you would any employment interview. The most common question you will face is something along the lines of "what are you here for today?" Seems like an easy question to answer, especially if you've done your homework and can tailor your answer to your interests and the company's interests, thereby marketing yourself. Make sure you also have some questions ready to ask the interviewer. A great concluding question for you to ask is, "What do I need to do to obtain a second interview with your firm?" Finally, make sure to avoid poor communication bad habits, such as fidgeting, rocking, chewing gum, etc.
8. Intangibles. There are several other things you can do to help make your career fair experience a success. First, don't waste your time interviewing with companies you have no desire to work for; do make sure to interview with all the companies you do want to work for. Second, if you did not prepare for a company you want to interview for, try eavesdropping on several of the interviews ahead of you so you can better prepare; do also try to get some company literature from the booth before getting in line so you can read about the company while waiting; don't just stand in line doing nothing. Third, do extend common courtesies, such as offering to get the recruiter a beverage or snack; don't be upset if the recruiter has to take a break before your interview. Fourth, if your ideal company is hiring computer technicians and you want to work in accounting, do still interview with the company at the fair, being sure to leave the interview with the contact information of the person responsible for hiring in that area; don't be discouraged and walk away.
9. Networking. Job or career fairs are all about networking. Of course, you are building a network with the recruiters -- this task is your most vital. However, you can also network with your fellow job-seekers in terms of sharing information about job leads, companies, and their recruiting strategies and styles. There may also be professional organizations or employment agencies on hand at the fair, which are also good sources for networking.
10. Follow-up. Don't take the order of this key to mean it to be the least important; in fact, some would say it is one of the most important. You would be surprised at how few job-seekers actually take the time to follow-up their career fair interviews, thus when you do it, you will get an edge over the many others who do not. There are two main methods of follow-up. Some experts suggest actually calling the recruiter the evening of the fair and leaving a voicemail message thanking the recruiter again for his/her time that day. A more concrete and traditional method is to write a thank you note and mail it the next day to the address on the recruiter's business card. In the letter, thank the recruiter for his/her time, restate your interest and qualifications for the position, reiterate your interest in a second interview, and make a promise to follow-up the letter with a phone call (and then make sure you do in fact call). You probably should enclose another copy of your resume to be sure.
2. Research. Many job-seekers go to fairs to "see the sights" and are not prepared to interview. You can get a huge jump on the competition by getting a list of the companies attending the fair and doing some research on each of the companies you want to interview with; don't waste time with companies that do not interest you. While all of the recruiters will have company literature at their booths at the fair, you often can't access those until after the interview. With so much information about companies on the Web, there is no excuse not to do your homework.
3. Resumes. Bring lots of resumes to the fair -- at least two for each company for which you have an interest. If you have multiple interests or job objectives, make sure you bring enough of each version of your resume.
4. Portfolios. More and more career experts are emphasizing the importance of career portfolios. These portfolios should include copies of your resumes, a list of references, and samples of your best work. While most career fair interviews are fairly short, there may be opportunities for discussing your portfolio with a recruiter -- either over a short break or meal or during a second interview on-site. It is best to always be prepared no matter what happens.
5. Attire. Conservative business attire is essential because image and first impressions are critical. Know what is the expected attire of your profession and dress accordingly. It is always better to be overdressed than underdressed.
6. Strategy. You need to devise a strategy or plan of attack for the fair. You've already done the first step by researching the companies you are interested in. The second step is seeing if any new companies have registered when you arrive at the fair. The third step is surveying the layout of the fair and determining an order of interviewing. Some experts suggest meeting with your top choices first thing in the morning, interviewing with your other choices in the middle of the day, and returning to your top choices at the end of the day to thank them again for their time. But remember to stay flexible as your top choices may be the top choices of many, creating long lines that you may wish to avoid.
7. Interviewing. You may only have two to five minutes to market yourself and protect yourself from being screened out, thus you need to make the most of your time. Many experts suggest that you develop a one-minute "commercial" that highlights the key benefits that you can offer the organization -- and then use it at the beginning of the interview. Also remember the three keys to all interviews: make eye contact, offer a firm handshake, and show enthusiasm. You should also prepare answers to interview questions just as you would any employment interview. The most common question you will face is something along the lines of "what are you here for today?" Seems like an easy question to answer, especially if you've done your homework and can tailor your answer to your interests and the company's interests, thereby marketing yourself. Make sure you also have some questions ready to ask the interviewer. A great concluding question for you to ask is, "What do I need to do to obtain a second interview with your firm?" Finally, make sure to avoid poor communication bad habits, such as fidgeting, rocking, chewing gum, etc.
8. Intangibles. There are several other things you can do to help make your career fair experience a success. First, don't waste your time interviewing with companies you have no desire to work for; do make sure to interview with all the companies you do want to work for. Second, if you did not prepare for a company you want to interview for, try eavesdropping on several of the interviews ahead of you so you can better prepare; do also try to get some company literature from the booth before getting in line so you can read about the company while waiting; don't just stand in line doing nothing. Third, do extend common courtesies, such as offering to get the recruiter a beverage or snack; don't be upset if the recruiter has to take a break before your interview. Fourth, if your ideal company is hiring computer technicians and you want to work in accounting, do still interview with the company at the fair, being sure to leave the interview with the contact information of the person responsible for hiring in that area; don't be discouraged and walk away.
9. Networking. Job or career fairs are all about networking. Of course, you are building a network with the recruiters -- this task is your most vital. However, you can also network with your fellow job-seekers in terms of sharing information about job leads, companies, and their recruiting strategies and styles. There may also be professional organizations or employment agencies on hand at the fair, which are also good sources for networking.
10. Follow-up. Don't take the order of this key to mean it to be the least important; in fact, some would say it is one of the most important. You would be surprised at how few job-seekers actually take the time to follow-up their career fair interviews, thus when you do it, you will get an edge over the many others who do not. There are two main methods of follow-up. Some experts suggest actually calling the recruiter the evening of the fair and leaving a voicemail message thanking the recruiter again for his/her time that day. A more concrete and traditional method is to write a thank you note and mail it the next day to the address on the recruiter's business card. In the letter, thank the recruiter for his/her time, restate your interest and qualifications for the position, reiterate your interest in a second interview, and make a promise to follow-up the letter with a phone call (and then make sure you do in fact call). You probably should enclose another copy of your resume to be sure.
