With spring break and midterms behind us, we are now headed toward that crazy time of year, the end of spring semester! The end of the year is the most hectic time of year, for both fun and professional events. During the spring you may find yourself attending events such as the Career Fair, the Celebration of Academic Excellence ceremonies, and Commencement. In addition, many of us will be going on job/internship interviews, talking to graduate schools, or giving final presentations in class. No matter what the occasion, it is important that you are best prepared and present yourself professionally.
To help, we’ll be bringing you tips to help make sure you are putting your best self forward this spring! First up – let’s talk about the Career Fair!
What You Need to Know:
The annual Spring Career, Internship, and Graduate School Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 24th from 3 to 6pm in the MAC. There will be a variety of government, not-for-profit, and for-profit organizations in attendance, as well as a number of graduate schools. All majors and all years are encouraged to attend.
For more information about the Career Fair, and instructions to RSVP, check out the Student Information page here!
What to Wear:
Attending the Career Fair, you will want to wear business professional or business casual attire. Seniors are expected to be in business professional attire, while underclassmen can choose to wear business casual. Ladies, think dress pants or a skirt, a nice blouse and blazer, or a dress. Heels or flats, whichever you are most comfortable in. No jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, or sweats count as business attire – under any circumstance! What you wear impacts the first impression you make while networking and how you present yourself. Feel confident and take pride in what you have to offer to a potential employer by looking your best!
Be Prepared:
Make sure you have many copies of your resume with you at the Career Fair! Companies will often want to add you to their records and see what you have accomplished by keeping a copy of your resume. If you are nervous about striking up conversation, showing your resume is a great tool to spark a conversation with a potential employer. You can also include business cards with your resume as an additional form for contact information. Stop by the Career Center to ask about receiving your own business cards!
Prepare an elevator speech for networking. An elevator speech is a quick presentation of your academic accomplishments, goals, strengths, and skills used to promote yourself to a potential employer. Keep your greatest accomplishments in mind as you attend the Career Fair or other networking events.
When at the Career Fair, make sure you have researched companies you want to talk to beforehand and ask questions. In situations like these, employers are there not only to learn about you as a potential employee, but also to help you learn more about their company and what they have to offer.
Be prepared and use this opportunity to learn more about all kinds of career possibilities! The Career Fair is a really great and fun environment to network and practice presenting yourself to potential employers. Good luck and have fun Saints! The future is bright!