The Reality of Career Fairs

Many schools typically put on multiple career fairs a year providing the opportunity to students to apply for internships and jobs. However, the success rate most students have with finding a position through a career fair is quite low. For example a university will have on average 50 companies show up to their career fair each trying to fill on average one or two positions. Now if we assume that they are planning to hire someone out of that particular university that’s 50 to 100 positions available to any students attending the career fair. Typically 2,000 students will attend a career fair and submit their resume to recruiters. Assuming 100 positions are available to students, only 5% of those students will end up with a position. Though this is a rough estimate, the reality is that many students will not be able to solely use career fairs to find a job or internship.

What then is the point of attending a career fair? Networking. Career fairs will give you an opportunity to meet face to face with recruiters and learn more about the company. Even though you may not be able to get a position with a certain company, that doesn’t mean other positions won’t open at the same company. By using the career fair success strategies, you will be able to turn the recruiter into a contact for the future. Being able to provide contact information during an interview process will further enhance your prospects.

Though there is no guarantee towards getting a job or internship, you can still make the career fair experience a productive one.

Career Fair Success Strategies

Thousands of people haggling over prices for the best quality fish is a typical day at a wholesale fish market. Yet in reality this is quite similar to a typical career fair where hundreds of students wait in line to speak with a recruiter and submit their resume in hope of catching the big one. If you’re not prepared, a career fair can swallow you up and spit you back out. I have attended many career fairs and have come away with certain tips and advice towards making a career fair a productive and positive experience.

Many undergraduates who attend a career fair for the first time do not realize that their interview with a prospective company begins with the first conversation with a recruiter. Having helped a company recruit in the past, I can finally understand why making a strong first impression is very important. Impressing a recruiter can involve a number of things such as appearance, self confidence, and extensive knowledge of the company. When hundreds of students are vying for the same position, you need to make yourself stand out.

Typically the career centers of most college campuses prepare for career fairs in advance and will provide information on what the company does and what kind of positions they are hiring for. Trust me you’ll want to be as prepared as possible before attending a career fair. Do your research on the companies so that when you do talk to the recruiter you can tell them about yourself and why you feel you would fit in with the position they have posted. There’s nothing worse for a recruiter than having to explain the position to people over and over again. Trust me they already know who they want and don’t want once you open your mouth.

While you’re talking to the recruiter about yourself, you should also take the opportunity to ask questions about them. The more involved you are talking with a recruiter the better chance you may have getting an interview spot. Try to always get their business card so that you can follow up with them and possibly create a contact.

Most importantly, bring extra copies of your resume. Passing out your resume at a career fair is a long standing tradition, so make sure you have enough copies with you. I have unfortunately had had the experience of not bringing enough resumes requiring me run off to a nearby computer lab to print some more out taking away precious time talking to recruiters. My rule of thumb is to bring an extra 15 - 20 resumes on top of the one's you've already printed. You never know what company will show up at the last minute that is a great fit for you.