The Value of College Career Fairs
Like everything, College Career Fairs are a lot different now then they were when today’s parents went to college. It can be hard to support your student if you don’t know what they look like. This post is an overview of College Career Fairs and includes some tips on supporting your student as they prepare to participate in them.
It is a fact that career fairs can be counter-intuitive. Some students react to the idea by saying “but I have no idea what I want to do - why go to a career fair?” In fact, this is EXACTLY why college career fairs can be helpful. They are a great opportunity to learn about the job market.
Students might also say “but I’m only a freshman! It’s too soon.” Some schools might limit attendance to upperclassmen (see more on that below), but if not, look at career fairs as great practice. Students can learn how they work, practice professional communication skills, identify employers they might be interested in pursuing an internship or job with in future years, and even get resume feedback and suggestions from recruiters. Having some career fair experience under their belts can take the pressure and anxiety level down when they attend future career fairs. Let’s cover some basics:
First Step: Career fairs look different depending on the school, so the most important first step for students is to visit their campus career center and get familiar with the process. Learning what the career center offers is a really important step on its own, but learning what to expect from a career fair on their campus is also critical. Your student’s career center can help them find out if they need to register for it, if they should bring resumes, and what industries / companies / organizations will be there. Many career centers offer workshops to help students prepare for college fairs – a very helpful service. Parent tip: you can follow the university career center on social media and through their website, which will help you make gentle (or not-so-gentle) suggestions to your student about upcoming events. (We all know this by now, but remember that career centers exist to interact with students, and will not take appointments with parents).
What to Expect: Students can expect to see a lot of tables staffed by employees of recruiting companies and organizations. Students attending will be dressed appropriately and have resumes in hand. (Students should check with their college career center for information about attire). Some companies will be recruiting for internships, some will be recruiting for post-graduate employment, and some will be recruiting for both. Student attendees will move from table to table, sometimes waiting in line, and speaking to the recruiters who are present.
Preparing for a Career Fair: Your student can find out what companies will be attending the fair through their campus career center. Students should research the companies and understand their line of business or operations as well as the positions available. Based on this research, students can decide which recruiters to focus on. If your student’s school requires or recommends pre-registration, take advantage of it. At many schools, students upload a copy of their resume with their pre-registration and recruiters pre-screen them.
Resume and Elevator Pitches: Before we make suggestions about resumes and elevator pitches, we will reiterate our most important piece of advice – students should take full advantage of campus career center resources! These centers are familiar with the companies that recruit on their campuses and with the variety of expectations and norms in different industries. There are many good online resources for students, but we highly recommend starting with the on-campus resources and supplementing with online resources.
As for resumes, students should have a polished resume – uploaded if the career center / fair offers that – with extra copies in hand at the fair just in case. Preferred resume formats tend to vary by industry, and online resources can help a student polish up their resume. Handshake gives good guidance for student resume building. Other sites provide industry specific tips, and online experts such as Greg Langstaff (@langstaff.greg on Instagram) give great strategic advice and formatting tips. Sometimes students put the cart in front of the horse and worry about formatting before content - we have a free download that helps students track their experience and activities as they go through college, making it easier to keep a current resume. If students are inclined, they can also prepare business cards that include their LinkedIn and Handshake information. (And a common but important pro tip – students should ensure that their digital resume is in pdf format and that the NAME of the pdf is STUDENTNAMERESUME.PDF!)
Elevator pitches are just as important as resumes. Some students might be intimidated by this, but they are straightforward to prepare and with some practice are not nerve-wracking! Handshake has some great examples of career fair elevator speeches. For more detailed guidance, Carnegie Mellon University has a template for students to use to develop their pitch and answers to common questions. Their elevator pitch might be a bit long for most career fairs, but the exercise is very helpful to help students prepare for and rehearse responses to likely follow up questions. One tip: make sure the ask is clear – your student should be clear about whether they are looking for an internship, a post-graduate job, or something else.
What to Wear: Not to repeat ourselves, but the best place for guidance on a career fair is your student’s college career center! Expectations might vary by industry – for example the attire expected for business college career fairs might differ from the attire expected at a fair for jobs in education. Or not. Students will be more confident if they are dressed appropriately, and they can get the most reliable guidance on that from their career centers. Many career centers have clothes closets available for students who are in need of appropriate attire. While it is not attire, students should remember to bring a portfolio with extra resume copies and a notepad and pen. There are plenty of inexpensive portfolios available online and in big-box and office supply stores
Prepare Questions: It’s good for students to prepare questions in advance so that when a recruiter asks if they have any questions they aren’t caught off guard. Company-specific questions are ideal, but not required. Students can ask about the company's expected growth, typical roles for new graduates, or the company’s culture. We suggest that students avoid asking questions that are easily answered by a quick google - they want to demonstrate knowledge about the company and interest in the details. Again . . . your student’s college career center is the best resource for developing these questions!
Follow Up: There are few important components of follow up. Of course, students should send a thank you email to those they spoke to – brief, professional, and (if possible) referring to a specific conversation point.You can also suggest to your student that they keep notes about their impressions from the career fair - not just about companies and recruiters but about areas of interest they might want to look into further. Students might find that they learn about careers they had not thought of before at career fairs!
Career Fairs are a great way to make connections, learn, network, and develop their interpersonal communication skills. Most importantly, students can build confidence by attending these fairs and pave the way to satisfying job opportunities after graduation.