2009 Career Fair Preparation

Career Fair Prep
Develop your future

2009 Fall Career Fair
When: September 29, 2009
Where: SDC Multipurpose Room
Time: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

A Successful Approach
Develop a strategy
Solid resume
Practice your interview skills
Dress appropriately
Understand employers’ expectations
Use available resources
Upload resume to NACElink

Bring to the Job Fair?
Copies of resumes
Transcripts
Professional notepad/pen and notes
Firm handshake
Your calendar
Research the companies
Confident and enthusiastic attitude
A polished, professional appearance

Choose the right employers!
Reviewed registered employers on Career Services website: www.career.mtu.edu
Develop a “target list”
Categorize employers into A,B, and C lists
Practice on one of the C list employers
Then hit you’re A list
Don’t stand in line too long

Research the Employers
Website
Hoover’s Online
Dun & Bradstreet (dnb.com)
Fortune’s 500 Biggest Companies
Bus. Week’s & Forbes’ 100 Best small Companies
Google
National, local, and trade specific publications
USAJobs.org

A Solid Resume
Your “ticket” to an interview
A resource for filling out applications
Evidence of what you have done
A conversation starter
Different for the college grad vs. someone with years of experience

A Strong Resume?
Consider the following categories
Objective(what you want to do)
Education(schools, locations, degree,
dates, GPA, relevant courses)
Project Experiences (Capstone, hobbies coursework)
Work Experiences (paid, unpaid, volunteer)
Skills(Computer, Technical, Language)
Accomplishments(don’t be shy)

Utilize NACElink

Post your resume
Search for jobs

By keyword (major, title, etc.)
By employer

Apply for jobs

Secure interviews

Info-mercial

Develop a 1-minute infomercial about your experience, skills, talent, and job objective.
First impressions are important! Introduce yourself using some of these topics:

Name
Degree, major, and minor
Grade point average
Work, co-op and internship experience
Leadership
Projects
Knowledge of company!

Mock Info-mercial

Dress for Success
Dressing Tips For Men
Suit: Dark blue, brown or gray
Shirt: White, light blue
Tie: Contrasting (with some red)
Shoes: (Black or brown)
Belt: Matches shoes,
socks match slacks
Hair: Trimmed or pulled back
Avoid: Earrings, hats, heavy cologne

Dress for Success
Dressing Tips For Women
Skirt/Slacks: Dark blue, brown, gray
Blouse: Light colored, not floral
Shoes: Conservative
Hair: Pulled away from face
Avoid:
Tight or revealing clothing
Shoes with straps, high heels, light colored
Excessive jewelry, perfume and make up

Employers look forSKILLS & EXPERIENCES
Planning and managing projects
Building relationships
Analyze and evaluate data
Engage in continuous learning
Communicate through persuasion and justification
Seek global understanding
Mentor others
Build a team
Create new knowledge

The InterviewThe next day
Perspective >
Preparation >
Practice >
Performance >

The Perspective
Employers are looking for the answer to three questions:

Does the job-seeker have the skills and abilities to perform the job?
Does the job-seeker possess the enthusiasm and work ethic that the employer expects?
Will the job-seeker be a team player and fit into the organization?

Perspective

Recruiter’s actually want you to do well
An interview should be approached as a conversation
They are much more interested in your “why’s” and your “how’s” than your “what’s”

The Prep Work
Anticipate questions

Any insider information?
Thoroughly review the job description
Know the “ins and outs” of everything on

your resume, and more

Review the hundreds of sample questions

available on the web

Preparation
Traditional Questions:
Be concise, explain answers, give examples!
Behavioral Questions:
Describe situation thoroughly, enough for the interviewer to understand
Focus on YOUR actions. Why did you take a specific action? How did you decide what action to take?
What were the results? What did you accomplish and learn?
What do you want them to know about you????

Preparation
Research the employer

Showcase your knowledge of employer services, trends, accomplishments, competitors, financial health, and NEEDS
Corporate websites, annual reports,

third-party resources

Networking

Preparation
Questions to ask the employer:

Ask about a specific project you know the company is working on.
What is the company’s biggest challenge at this time.
Where would the company like to be in 5 years?
Ask about advancement opportunities

Practice, Practice, Practice

Develop response outlines for thoughtful rather than rambling answers
Focus on positive, specific examples
Practice helps to reinforce memory
Practice fine tunes responses
2-3 mock interviews before the real thing

Performance

Display energy, confidence, and respect
Listen carefully
Body language: eye contact, gestures, posture
Chemistry, make a connection: Remember, it’s a conversation
Employers are much more interested in your “why’s” and your “how’s” than your “what’s”
Concise answers, explain answers, provide examples to complete “picture”
Don’t ramble: Know what 1 to 1.5 minutes feels like

Performance
At the end of the interview:
- Thank them for their time/information
- Ask for a business card
- Send a thank you note within 24-48 hrs.

It is Raffle time