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Recruiter Tips & Tricks: Navigating a career fair
September 29, 2011
Introduction: Jeff Moore, lead engineering recruiter at Google, continues the
Recruiter Tips & Tricks
series with a post on how you should be taking advantage of career fairs at your university.
So your campus is having a career fair tomorrow. Just need to roll out of bed, print a couple resumes, stop by between classes and grab a couple free pens, right? Wrong. Career fairs are your one-stop guide to the opportunities available to you, the college student. This is your chance to meet corporate representatives, make a first impression and find out how you can land an interview for your dream job. This week, I’m going to teach you how to work your campus career fair like a pro.
Research, research, research
- Know what companies are attending the fair and figure out which ones are offering jobs in your field. If you see a company on the list that you don’t know, look them up. Find out what they do. Just because you’ve never heard of them doesn’t mean they aren’t the perfect company for you. And don’t walk up to a corporate representative and ask “so...what do you do?” Doesn’t exactly make a great first impression.
Plan
- Piggybacking off of the last point, create a plan for yourself on how you’ll interact with the companies you want to talk to. Don’t just go to every table, hand in your resume and walk away. Know which companies have positions you are interested in and prepare a quick introduction.
Resumes
- Print as many resumes as you think you’ll need. And then double that. If your resume is more than one page, print it double sided or remember to staple it. And don’t just shove your resume into the bottom of your bag—good presentation extends to your resume, too.
Take your time
- Don’t “stop by” the career fair between classes. Plan to spend five minutes per company you plan to speak with. Have a couple questions in your back pocket to ask each recruiter or corporate representative. If you’re interesting, you will be memorable. Recruiters sometimes get as many as 1,000 resumes at a single career fair. You’ll want to stand out.
Presentation is everything
- At Google we believe you can be serious without a suit but that doesn’t mean you should show up in your pajamas. Besides, not every company feels the same way about attire as we do. You don’t need to wear a suit but aiming for presentable is a good plan. And never underestimate the power of a good handshake and a friendly smile.
Stuff We All Get aka SWAG
- These events are littered with all kinds of pens, squishy balls, notepads, yo-yo’s and other miscellaneous branded paraphernalia. You should feel free to grab stuff, especially if you think it’s cool. However, you don’t want to be the person who takes so much stuff from every table that your next gig is starring on one of those reality TV shows about hoarding.
Stay Healthy
- You’re going to be shaking a lot of hands. Be sure to bring some hand sanitizer with you or take a few breaks to wash your hands. And please help keep the recruiters healthy by not sneezing on your hands or picking your nose (I’m not joking, this has happened and it’s gross), especially right before you go to shake someone’s hand.
Follow-up
- Don’t be afraid to ask for contact information, a business card or that great piece of swag you see on the table. If a recruiter says, “email me so we can talk in more detail,” do it. Following up is the most important thing you can do after the job fair.
Have fun!
- The career fair should be one of the least nerve-wracking parts of your job search. Corporate representatives are on campus because they want to talk to you. Be friendly, crack a joke and be yourself.
Questions? Let me know in the comments,
message me on Google+
or use the hashtag #googleoncampus on Twitter or
Google+
to share your career fair tips.
Posted by Jeff Moore, Lead Engineering Recruiter
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