Vanderbilt Career Center

How to Take Advantage.
Regardless of your year, your major, or your career direction, career fairs can provide a valuable resource as you explore careers and seek employment. Whether you’re interested in one organization or many, full-time positions or internships, career fairs and ICDs can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your job search efforts.

These events offer Vanderbilt students and alumni multiple opportunities to meet face-to-face or in a virtual setting with prospective employers or academic admissions personnel. The Vanderbilt Career Center sponsors several events throughout the academic year. Two additional fairs are sponsored with a consortium of local universities: the Nashville Area College to Career Fair and the Nashville Area Teacher Recruitment Fair.

The purpose of a career fair or ICD is to network. Employers like to participate in these events because of the number of students with whom they can make contact. At a career fair or ICD, you can find out what kinds of positions are open within a company, as well as find out more about the company and if they would be a good fit for your interests. This is an excellent opportunity for you to explore careers and gather information about different industries and companies for which you may be interested in working. You must prepare before you attend such an event.

Before the Event – Prepare

• Prepare to dress in business attire.
• Know what your goal is. Are you a sophomore gathering information, or are you a senior looking to be a part of a great company?
• Have plenty of copies of your resumes. You can have different resumes targeted towards different industries. Be sure they are printed on nice paper.
• Prepare a thirty-second commercial about yourself so that you have something to say that catches the interest of an employer. Introduce yourself, show your knowledge of the company, as well as your enthusiasm, and tell them what you have to offer (see the "Elevator Speech" article).
• Focus on your skills. Employers want to know what skills you have to bring to the position/organization. Before you go to a fair, give thought to your skills, accomplishments, experiences, interests, strengths/weaknesses. Be prepared with two to three examples to use (i.e.: the team skills you developed through courses; the time management skills you developed by balancing courses with extra-curricular activities and/or part-time work).
• Find out what companies will be there so that you can do your research ahead of time. Check the Career Center website a couple of weeks in advance for a list.
• There will be lines of students waiting; therefore, your time may be limited. Make a list to prioritize your organizations of interest. You’ll maximize your time at the fair and connect with your top choices.
• Develop a list of questions you want to ask each employer.

At the Event – Perform

• Dress professionally. Career fairs require the same attention to attire as interviews. Wear comfortable shoes.
• Bring multiple copies of your resume. Bring an appointment book in case you have the opportunity to set up an informational interview. Keep all these materials organized throughout the fair.
• Smile, show enthusiasm, maintain eye contact, and be your (professional) self!
• Greet the person with a firm handshake and maintain eye contact.
• Stand alone and be independent. Try not to move in groups with your friends.
• Have an open mind. Approach lesser-known companies in order to discover their potential.
• Have a sense of humor and be personable. Talk conversationally with recruiters.
• Inquire about obtaining further information about the company.
• Remember to "close the deal!" Take the initiative and ask what your next step is.
• Take a business card so that you can follow up with a thank you letter. If you were unable to talk with the recruiter but picked up a business card, follow up with that employer and convey your interest.

Things not to do:

• Don’t be afraid of recruiters. They attend career fairs to meet qualified candidates!
• Don’t pretend you are interested when you are not. Don’t schedule an appointment if you don’t intend to keep it. You may be preventing a student who is really interested from obtaining an interview.
• Don’t overstate your abilities; you’ll end up in a job that you are not able to do. Present yourself and your abilities in a convincing manner.
• Don’t monopolize the recruiter’s time. Sell yourself, make a good impression, and give the next student the opportunity to do the same.
• Don’t ask questions about salary!
• Don’t insult the recruiter. Cultivate the recruiter as a contact in your network.
• Don’t just throw your resume on the table. It will probably be thrown into a pile. Take time to market yourself.
• Don’t jump into a conversation that the recruiter is having with another student. Patiently wait for your turn.

After the Event – Wrap Up

• Congratulations - you did it! You just took a major step in your job search. Make the success last: evaluate your career fair experiences and stay in touch with organizations to demonstrate your ongoing interest.
• Send timely thank you notes to all recruiters you met to show continued interest.
• Keep notes. Evaluate opportunities, impressions, highlights, correspondence/calls.
• Keep up the good work. Use a variety of job search strategies in addition to job fairs to round out your job search.
• Tell us about it. Let the Career Center know what you experienced and how it helped or what you learned. Also, we welcome feedback about the overall event.