Career fair through the eyes of a volunteer
Written by Lucia Artigas
We know the Career Fair is an excellent opportunity to meet up with great companies, receive feedback on your portfolio and even find the perfect internship. But being a volunteer can also be a valuable professional experience. You get to interact with companies, develop professional skills and meet great people. Freshmen and sophomores, here’s why you should do it.
Why should you volunteer?
Volunteers are the lifeline of career fair. They are responsible of making this event a successful experience for everybody. Sure, it’s a tough job, but it allows you to interact with the companies in a different environment. You have the chance to see what they are looking for on an interview; you get to see the best and the worst, and steal some of those awesome presentation skills that will get you that dream job.
How to be the best volunteer.
Research your company. Do your homework. Get an icebreaker. Seriously, it’s going to help you clear that awkward air around these big employers. You want to know about your company. Granted, you get to suggest who to be assigned with, but it doesn’t always work out like that. You might, or might not know the company you were assigned to. Therefore, it’s very important for you to do your research. Even if the company doesn’t match your major, it is always important to practice those networking skills. And of course, you want to be able to answer questions when the students ask who the company is and what are they looking for.
Tip: Don’t forget your presentation cards!
As a volunteer you want to help students facilitate interaction between the students and companies. You either get to help a small company that not everyone knows, or the line of people goes around the block. If your booth is kind of empty, your job as volunteer is to encourage the students to stop by and ask questions; they might discover a great job opportunity they never would’ve thought of otherwise. So if you get Apple or Hasbro, be ready to manage big crowds.
I got Bento Box Entertainment, and I had no clue who they were. But everyone else did; in fact, they were not only popular within the animation and sequential arts crowd, but anyone who enjoys their comedy cartoons. Regardless of their purpose, it ended up being the worst traffic jam in the fair, and the volunteers came to the rescue.
Tip: Follow up with email to whoever you meet at the career fair.
We came up with the idea of giving out a number ticket to each and everyone in the line and an approximate hour of when to come back. This helped clear out the halls and gave the students more freedom to see more companies instead of standing there, waiting in line.
And we encouraged students to practice their presentation while they were waiting, instead of standing around like potatoes. And to also network with the people around them so they would take the most advantage of their time in the career fair.
Tip: Keep an enthusiastic attitude!
Career fair is not only about getting to meet to the companies, but getting to network with other students that could be valuable future collaborators.
Volunteering is all about getting to experience the other side of the career fair. Working behind the scenes helps you get that confidence to be amazing when it’s your turn to be in front of the company of your dreams.
