With unemployment rising, job fair attendance keeps climbing. Job seekers attend fairs hoping to gain face-to-face access to prospective employers in ways that their e-mailed resumés cannot. The big problem is that too many people attend job fairs, career expos, whatever you want to call them, without a plan. They stumble blindly around, talking to a few participants, and even ignore booths with little or no traffic. That’s like snubbing an interview. If you make the effort to attend, work the room!
Most fairs publicize exhibitors’ names beforehand. Study the names in advance. Research their websites. Read recent press releases. Check out openings on the sites’ careers page. Have a game plan and a list of your Top 10 companies—and meet everyone, especially your targets.
Bring a good supply of quality, printed resumés, even if you previously e-mailed one. Attach a colored paperclip or a dot sticker to your resumé when you hand it to booth personnel. As you meet the rep, say, “I’ve made it easier for you to remember me: I’m the one with the blue dot in the corner.”
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Before approaching a target company, study the booth from afar. Is candidate traffic too heavy for you to have a chance to talk? Pick your moment. When you do, smile warmly, shake hands and address them with a purpose. Ask what they are recruiting for, and mention any interesting openings you saw on their website while doing your pre-event homework. Most importantly, get the business card of that day’s representative and ask for the name of the colleague handling your area of interest. Carry a small notebook and make notes upon leaving the booth. If they don’t know the line manager’s name, ask for the human resources director’s name.
Afterward, don’t wait to be called. Send a personal thank you, by e-mail or regular mail. Send one to everyone you met that day. Find them online and see if they are on social networking sites such as LinkedIn or connected to people who might benefit your career. Perhaps you know the same people. Contact your leads and open with a line such as, “Last Wednesday, I met your associate, Jane Doe, at the XYZ Job Fair. Jane gave me your name as the person I should contact about…” then indicate your qualifications, skills and background. Attach or include a resumé. Call in several days to follow up.
Don’t be afraid to think out of the box. My firm participates in many job fairs annually. One memorable candidate watched as job seekers competed four deep in line at our booth. He waited until a representative took a coffee break, “accidentally bumped into her” at the food court and engaged her with friendly conversation. Later he returned to the booth and said, “Hi there. I think you and I met earlier when we were quenching our caffeine fix.” It was just the “in” he needed to get noticed and stand out.
Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of seven how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to jobadvice@lloydstaffing.com.
