Prepare For The Fair--Part 2: I'm Here! Now What?

This is the second installment in our annual "Prepare for the Fair" series. If you haven't already, read "Part 1: Do your Homework."

At the Fair:

So you’re here, sleek and dressed-to-impress, ready to mingle in this colorful sea of job booths, employers, and eager-to-please students. You spot your first employer and slowly inch your way over to his/her booth, resume-in-hand. So…now what do you say?

1. Despite any hard-to-repress inner nerves, now’s the time to appear confident, enthusiastic, and totally-at-ease. Address your employer strongly and clearly, perform your confident but not-too-aggressive handshake, and always (always!) maintain eye-contact. Employers are evaluating not only your on-paper talents, but your interpersonal skills—your capacity to handle new interactions and master work-place social cues. But this isn’t meant to amp the nerves; just be your awesome-to-talk-to self, and you’ll do just fine!

2. Once you’ve made your confident first impression, here’s where the elevator pitch comes in. Similar to those all-too-cheesy openers designed to pick up that night’s crush, think of this as a “pick-up-line”. This is an opportunity for you (in a short 30-60 seconds) to compellingly convey who you are, why you’re interested, and how your skills and interests connect to the company-in-question. While being specific and thorough, this quick intro should be concise and to-the-point, absent of repetitions and extraneous life-details. It’s no question—crafting that concise, attention-grabbing elevator pitch isn’t easy. If you’re struggling with what to say, pay us a quick visit before the Fair and we’re happy to help!

3. After you’ve launched your 30 second intro and catalyzed the interaction, remain confident and proactive in conversation. Chances are, your employer will take some time to explain the company and reel us student crowds in. But when you see an opening, dip into your preparatory research and smartly engage in conversation. Trade the typical career questions for a thought-provoking question or pertinent, newsworthy topic, demonstrative of your preparation and savvy career know-how.

But much more than a showcase of your professional interests, these well-thought-out questions have the potential to most benefit you. Plan your questions wisely so that you come away with personalized career information, tips, and advice, the stuff that you can’t quite find scouring Google. More than anything, the Career Fair is an opportunity to intake career information, gather professional insight, and simply learn, a productive step forward toward reconciling our own hazy career goals.

After-the Fair

So you've survived the fair! But opportunities for career-development hardly end once we say our “nice-to-meet-yous” and exit Gancher’s doors. The way to make the most out of this mingling and networking crunch-time is to follow-up—start transforming this brief introductory meet-up into a consistent networking relationship. Once following up with an email or hand-written thank-you (a must!), we recommend that you craft an organized list of each employer who you encountered, indicating the date of your last encounter, plans to follow up, and other career events involving that company. Also, be sure to check out the Career Services website to learn when employers are visiting Tufts for on-campus interviews. I hope this Career Fair “how-to” has been helpful, and has more-or-less cleared up any bugging questions or concerns. As a senior slowly starting to grasp college’s expiration date, I’ll definitely be there somewhere in this eclectic, student-packed crowd—experiencing the same valuable take-aways the career fair has to offer. I hope to see you all there!