Time to break out your blazers and pencil skirts, it’s job fair season! Along with the crisp weather and the changing leaves, fall brings us a bevy of career and internship fairs on campus. You may think that if you aren’t a graduating senior then these fairs don’t concern you, but think again. It’s not only full-time employers who recruit, but a good number of internship recruiters show up as well. It’s never too soon to start building your résumé.
The general career and internship fair was held from September 27th to the 29th in the Stamp Student Union Grand Ballroom, but depending on your major there are more job fairs to come in the month of October and again in the spring. There is also an athlete-specific job fair and a job fair for Greek life. The career fair is not something to be feared or avoided but it also isn’t something you would want to attend last minute in your jeans and sneakers. When you attend the job fair there are several major “Do’s” that will guarantee a successful experience.
DO: Dress to impress. It is very important to look your best at these job fairs. Think of these fairs as mini-interviews and dress accordingly. Even though we all wear jeans and t-shirts to class, employers want to see that you’ve made the effort to put yourself together for their sake. Laura Ford, who works in human resources at Agora Publishing, was one of the many employers recruiting at the Maryland job fair. For her, casual clothes were a major career fair don’t.
“Don’t wear jeans, don’t wear t-shirts, don’t wear sneakers,” Ford said. “It just shows a lack of effort.” If you don’t feel comfortable in a pant suit and heels, there are a lot of business casual outfits you can put together that will look great and give the impression that you made the extra effort to look put together and professional. A tasteful dress in a neutral color or a pencil skirt and a feminine blouse are both great job fair outfits. As far as shoes go, flats are always a safe bet but if you do opt for heels, don’t go any higher than a three-inch heel. You want to look nice, but not like you’re heading out to the bars afterwards. It’s important in these situations that for your own sake you feel comfortable, confidant and professional.
DO: Do your research. Before you attend a career fair take some time beforehand to go online and check out the list of employers who are attending. Pick the employers that most interest you and do a little bit of research on them. You don’t need to memorize their web pages, but be able to tell employers why their company interests you and why you would be a good fit. Natalie Connors, a University of Maryland graduate with a degree in government and politics learned this the hard way. “Definitely look into companies beforehand,” Connors said. “I winged it in the spring last year and ended up just talking to a bunch of companies I wasn’t interested in.”
A lot of students print out a bunch of résumés and just randomly hand them out. This not only wastes your time, but it won’t impress any of the employers. “I just went to the companies hiring Communications majors and I wish I’d done a little more research instead of just randomly talking to people,” said career fair first-timer and senior communications major Teryn Hann. Employers notice the students who have taken the initiative to do some research, “I look for someone who carries themselves well…who has done some research on the company and could tell me a bit about the company; that’s really important,” says Ford.
DO: Visit the career center. In many ways, the career center is Maryland’s greatest untapped resource. Even if you think your résumé is perfectly laid out, it doesn’t hurt to have someone at the career center look it over. You may be surprised to learn that your résumé is not in fact in the correct format. “The career center has a lot of stuff that’s really beneficial,” Connors said. “They can help a lot with your résumé and they’re a good resource especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for.” A trip to the career center is never a bad idea and you might be surprised to find out that you aren’t as prepared as you thought you were.
DO: Get started early. “It’s never too soon to start looking,” Connors said. “If you’re looking for a job right out of school, start in the fall.” Most of us are too wrapped up in our college lives to step back and realize that in a short time we will be entering the work force. If you don’t know what you want to do, getting out and going to these career fairs in the fall, even as a junior, can help you get a good idea of what kind of jobs are out there and which companies are hiring. Even if you aren’t desperate for a job immediately after graduation, going to a career fair doesn’t involve any sort of commitment, it can just help prepare you for when you do want to seriously start looking.
Career fairs are a great place to get started when you’re looking for a job or even just an internship. Don’t let them stress you out though! If you follow these “Do’s,” career fair season this fall should be a breeze and come spring you will be one lean, mean, job hunting machine.