Yesterday was the University of Dayton's Career and Internship Fair. It was both exciting and quite nerve wracking to see so many employers looking at us college students to become part of their institutions. Despite that though, most of us only looked at a few employers that clicked with us and with what we want to do with our lives. For some, that didn't happen and that is okay. For others, it did and I have to say, congrats to you because you have now added a goal to your life of where you want to be.
To those of you who did not get that click, do not fret. I went last year as a freshman and all of the companies had nothing for freshmen. If you are a first year student, you really shouldn't be worrying about this until this time next year, especially you engineers looking for co-ops.
Some tips that can help you, especially coming from someone who just experienced his first career fair, are that you have to be dressed for success; you don't want to come in wearing a fancy t-shirt and fancy shorts, but rather a well rounded suit or dress or any formal professional attire. Show your A game with your attire!
Secondly, bring at least 10 copies of your resumé
. Even though you may only want to go to three tables, something may happen to your resumé . For example, it could have gotten crumpled up when you closed your folder, or a bit of it is smudged. You do not want to give a crumpled or smudged resumé to a representative. Show them your best quality resumé! Also, invest in resumé paper (there is a difference between regular printer paper and resumé paper). Again, it shows you care.Thirdly, and most importantly, is to relax and just have a conversation with the representative. The representatives were extremely polite and welcoming to me, even if I wasn't interested in their particular company. They are people as well, treat them as that and not as a big scary robot that will decide your fate. Job fairs are places to network and get to know more about the company outside of the research you did on it. By recognizing that they are also people, it helps your nervous system, your parasympathetic in particular, to relax and that results in a confident you and less sweat stains! This also shows the representative your charm and character, and helps them remember you when they look at your resumé
.These are just a few pointers to help you succeed at the next Career and Internship Fair you go to! Good luck, and go get that dream job!