Last week engineers from all disciplines fought for a place in the ever more exclusive club that we call The Employed. Considering how much more scarce jobs have become in the past few years, it is more important than ever to seize these sorts of chances and talk to those that have the power to change your future in such a significant manner.
With the grand prize of these events being a career for you it is important to not take these events too lightly. Through my own successes and failures at the career fair, I have found there are things you can do in advance to properly equip yourself so that you can be a serious competitor in the rat race that is career building. So before you waltz into the McKimmon Center for the next career fair ask yourself what you’ve done to be prepared. If you don’t know what you should do, here are my suggestions.
Be confidant
If you walk up to a company representative stuttering and tripping over your words, you are not going to seem like a qualified candidate. You may be well qualified with relevant experience, but first impressions have significant pull in how people will remember you. Take time before hand to practice the kind of things you will say and questions you will ask, so when you go up to someone you at least seem like an intelligent individual, who would be a good choice for that company.
Dress for the occasion
You don’t need to show up in a three-piece suit or anything, but you will not leave a positive first impression behind if you show up in flip flops, baggy gym shorts, and a raggedy old T-shirt. You should wear clothes that you would be expected to wear if you were to go to work in the office of your potential employer. Khaki pants and a shirt with some buttons on it are probably a good idea for the most part.
Get your resume reviewed
Your resume may be the most important and lasting thing that you will leave with the representatives at the career fair. You want your resume to not only list what you’ve done but also to show that you are awesome. The process of getting a job is not the time to be humble. Be an exhibitionist when you write your resume. Make yourself stand out against the grain so that you don’t disappear into the annals of paper work of those reviewing applications.
Putting together a good resume is not the easiest task. Fortunately for us the Career Center has put together a great program to help. They have put together resume writing clinics, resume reviews and mock interviews.
Research what companies you are interested in.
There was a wide array of companies at this past event, ranging from Disney Interactive Studios to the CIA, and in future career fairs there will be a diverse pool of employers as well. It is crucial that you first know what companies you are want to talk to so that you don’t waste time walking around aimlessly and it is even more important for you to know something about the companies you are going to talk to. If you don’t have relevant questions to ask you are going to look like any other random person out there asking for work.
It’s easy to find information on the companies. For this career fair it was as easy as logging onto ncsu.edu where all of the companies have links taking you to their websites. From their websites you can learn all about recent projects and the positions they are looking to fill.
Do yourself a favor before your next career fair and get prepared.
