Ten from the Top: Things for Career Fair
Ten from the Top is the weekly column of the very honest and often snarky thoughts of District’s editor-in-chief.
Career Fair is almost here and that means far more than hundreds of SCAD tables filling the entire convention center. Most importantly though it means employment. It’s going to be loud and crazy, so grab your coffee and get ready while you still have a few days left before it’s time to impress everyone. And I do mean everyone.
1. Dress to impress (them)
Business casual is no longer going to cut it for the big brands. That includes everyone from Amazon to Universal. Do a quick google search and see what the employees at the companies you are interested in look like. Is the office a jeans and t-shirt kind of place or full suits all the time? Regardless, dress nice and clean, pretend it’s a first date that you really, really, want to go well.
2. Who is coming?
Stop reading right now and click here, this is the lineup of everyone who is coming to Career Fair. Are you back yet, I miss you? You’re back! OK now who impressed you, who do you want to talk to when you get there? Write them down and prioritize on who is most important to you because you might be waiting all day for one specific place or talk with a dozen itty bitty companies.
3. Why are they here?
Believe me, multi-million dollar companies have better things to do with their time then come sit in a gigantic room with SCAD students. For the people you are interested in, check out their websites and see if they have internships coming up or positions they want to fill. It may seem like a long shot, but the booth I represented last year — that’s right represented, not visited — came specifically because they had jobs to fill and they hired at least three students within a week, so it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out.
4. Why do they care
Recruiters are going to see literally hundreds of students in the span of a few hours… so what makes you so special? Look at your work and your resume, what stands out as unique thing that no one else will have and see if it impresses them.
5. Know what questions to ask
When students came and talked to me at the booth I worked at last year, there was at least a handful that started showing me their work before I could say “hi.” Make sure you know what they are about and that you have good questions to ask because opportunities like this don’t happen all the time.
6. Give as much as you take
Look, we all know that quite a few of us are going for the free pens, stickers, pins and t-shirts that companies will be plastering all over. But if you are talking to prospective employers, make sure you have a few copies of your business card, resume, etc. that they can take home too.
7. Proofread, proofread, proofread!
You can only spell one thing wrong on your resume wrong and that is your name. Have multiple people look over your work, not just spell check, so that everything makes sense and sounds right.
8. Patience
You will be waiting in long lines. Even if you get a lot of time with them, they have it tougher then you think. These booths are being set up super early, most of the recruiters work through lunch and they are talking with hundreds of students. Be courteous when you get up to them and it will go a long way.
9. Give yourself a break
You are going to need a breather believe me after being crammed into a room with so many people and things going on. Change your shoes, grab a coffee or go get lunch and then come back no one will notice.
10. After everything…
Go back to your dorm, switch all those fancy clothes for sweatpants and breathe a sigh of relief. You have officially done a very mature, adult-like thingy and you should be rewarded. Take what you learn and be better prepared for when the time comes to leave the safe comfort of SCAD.
