It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over and your college students are back at school. They had a great summer and now they are excited to be back with their friends. So now it’s time to focus on classes and actually look for the next summer internship or job. Employers have already started posting coffee chats, networking sessions, and workshops. If your student doesn’t have their resume updated, their LinkedIn profile set up, and most importantly, Handshake, the employer job board for campus recruiting, populated they are going to miss the #1-way students get hired.
Career fairs will be virtual and in-person this year. Students should attend both. They should also attend any sessions potential employers are hosting. That being said, here are some tips to ensure your student is career fair ready (make sure to share this with them)!
- Register for the career fair, networking event, and online sessions – students should be on Handshake now looking to see what sessions are available and sign up. Slots could get filled and you want to make sure you have every opportunity to see the employer on campus.
- Research the companies coming to campus – just showing up to the career fair is not enough. Students need to be prepared. They need to understand what the company does and be able to articulate why they want to work there and why they are interested in a specific role.
- Determine who they want to interview with – there will be many employers interviewing on campus, in-person, and virtually. Students need to be strategic in their search. They should target the type of company they want to work for, instead of randomly walking around the career fair looking for people to talk with.
- Prepare and print their resume – it seems old-fashioned to actually print something, but the in-person career fair requires it. Students should have a portfolio or folder to bring the resumes so they stay in good shape.
- Have their elevator pitch ready – when they walk up to an employer, can they articulate what they are looking for? Students must be prepared to share what they are looking to do, i.e. they want to work in marketing because they are creative, or in consulting because they like problem-solving.
- Have their list of questions to ask employers – not only should they have the common questions ready, but they should go on the company website and see what the company is doing, particularly related to hot topics, i.e. diversity, sustainability, and formulate questions around that. Note: they should not ask questions where they can find the answer.
- Exude confidence and excitement – the expression “fake it till you make it” holds true. Even if your student is nervous or doesn’t feel they have all the experience the position has listed, they should apply, prepare, and be enthusiastic. Employers want to hire students who are excited about working at their company.
If your student needs help preparing and gaining confidence, we can help! We have proven successful over the years in helping 200+ students find rewarding career opportunities.
