Three Questions about…The Spring 2022 Career Fair
The Center for Career and Academic Planning will be holdings its annual Career Fair on Thursday, March 24. The first in-person career fair since 2020, the event will bring 50 employers to campus who are recruiting for internships and part-time or full-time positions. Here, Dr. Julia Overton-Healy, director of career services, answers three questions about the Big Fair!
My student isn’t a senior; what’s the point of attending? Most people think a Fair is for finding a job. In all my professional years running college career centers, I’ve never heard of anyone getting a job offer on-the-spot at a Fair. A Fair is to make connections, network, and learn about options. Of course the Fair is useful for seniors (especially if they haven’t begun a serious job search yet), but it’s also the chance for other class years to do what leads to a successful job search: connect with recruiters. And we’re offering professional headshots, too.
What companies will be at the Fair? We have 50 employers, representing small, medium, and large organizations from corporate to non-profits. We curated our employers to ensure students have a spectrum of career contacts. From national companies like Aflac and Amazon to smaller outfits like DraughtLab and GoNetSpeed, these organizations travel to campus to talk with Fisher students from all majors. We’ll have reps from banking, tech, healthcare, social services and more industry sectors.
What should my student do to prepare? First, do some research. Students can access the full list of participating employers in Handshake. Then, they should read the company profiles, do a little LinkedIn stalking, and think about what they want to ask the recruiter to learn more. Students should be ready to talk about what they know about the organization, instead of expecting the recruiter to explain it (over and over again…) Maximize the conversational time to ask about company culture, expectations of a new hire, skills needed to succeed, or even why the recruiter likes working there.
Second, they need to introduce themselves properly. Too many students just walk up and bluntly say “Hi, I’m {First Name}” and then just stand there. That puts the work on the recruiter. A proper self introduction includes a full name, some data points (major, class year, campus involvement is typical) and a reason why the student wanted to talk (use a piece of the pre-event research), or an opening question. The self-intro doesn’t have to be the so-called 30-second pitch. 30 seconds is a long time! But it shouldn’t be just a first name. Introductions should offer a topic of conversation.
Finally, after-event follow up is really important. A simple thank-you email is good; better is finding that recruiter on Linkedin and sending a connection request (add a personal note!) Follow the organization on its social media and on Handshake. The Fair just planted the seed; students need to nurture the connection to make it grow.
Anything else we should know? Hey – you said three questions! Just joking. I guess I would ask families to nudge. The Fair is set for March 24 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. It’s in-person this year, located in Cleary Auditorium. Now would be a good time to start dropping hints about going to the Fair. Recommend wearing nice clothes (no sweats or leisurewear, but decent jeans and nice shirt would be ok. Some students wear suits which is always a good impression, but it’s not mandatory). Ask what companies they plan to talk to. Offer to listen to their self intro. Mention that their resume should be in good shape (encourage them to use our resume review service!) Between now and March 24, a weekly nudge should do it. If you frame the nudges with the assumption they will attend the Fair, it’s less like nagging and more like interest.