How to Work a Career Day

With so many employers concentrated in one convenient location, Career Days/Job Fairs offer a particularly efficient way to advance your search.  At these events, you can research companies, identify available positions, hone your job-hunting skills, meet hiring managers and perhaps even land an immediate job offer.  To be successful you must devise a game plan for the event.

During The Career Day

• Arrive early & beat the crowd to avoid long lines.
• Dress neatly.  Although some of the employers may dress in casual business attire, the job seekers should upgrade their attire.  Professional dress in suits or dresses makes a positive statement about the candidates' seriousness in gaining employment.
• Take plenty of resumes.
• Make eye contact immediately when introducing yourself & greet the recruiter/interviewer with a firm handshake.
• Remember the representative's name; if not, casually refer to their nametag.
• Be articulate and sell yourself.  Show confidence in your voice.  The room will be noisy, and if they can't hear you they won't remember you.
• Avoid using filler words such as "um," "like," "ya know."
• Smile and be polite - enthusiasm is an important quality.
• Ask other attendees what they learned from the recruiters and compare notes.
• Explore all your options. Speak with employers that you had not considered before; they may have various types of employment opportunities.
• Ask for a business card to be used for your thank you letter.

After The Career Day

• Send a thank you letter.  It can bring attention to your name.
• Include your resume with the thank you letter.
• Conduct a follow-up telephone call.  When calling, be prepared and know/practice what you are going to say beforehand.
• Check to make sure that your application is complete.