When I went to my first career fair, I did not really know what to expect. I was not sure if it was going to be worth it, but I knew that getting an internship was my top priority in college. I had to give it a shot. When I got there, there was a long line of students waiting to enter the fai. In my head I was questioning if waiting in a long line of students just to get into the fairs was worth it.
There is no way I am going to even get a chance after hundreds of very smart peers already entered the building, right? Plus I am skipping classes that I am already struggling in. This could be a waste of time.
This career fair got me some call backs and most definitely helped me land my first internship very quickly. Read about my first internship experience here:
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How do Career Fairs Work?
Here is how career fairs typically work. A university will organize space and time for a career fair. They will advertise it to its students and potential employers. Companies are generally required to pay for a booth at the career fair.
Pro tip: if you see an extra large booth in a prime spot, it could mean that this company paid extra for that spot and has a lot of openings that they are hoping to fill.
There is a lot of preparation that goes into the career fairs on the side of the company. The recruiters will generally advertise internally and get a group of employees to commit with assisting at the fair. In the case of engineering career fairs, you will likely see engineers speaking with students. Recruiters try to get a group of employees that’s most qualified to speak with students at that particular fair.
My observation: you will likely see alums from your own school representing the company.
All of this is good for you. These people are there to fill positions and they are serious about it. They have literally dedicated a chunk of money and time to come speak with students and fill the quota for a set of openings.
Engineers representing the company will be chatting with students and collecting resumes. They are the front line will be giving the recruiter thumbs up or down for each individual candidate.
Note: Each company will be a bit different, but the general idea should be similar.
Use the Career fairs to your Advantage
This is your time to ask questions about the company and ask for tips. For example, in just one day you can get many sets of eyes on your resume and collect a bunch of feedback from people who are actually evaluating resumes. This is probably the best place to get resume feedback and practice your elevator pitch.
Big note here: you should come to the fairs as prepared as possible. You do need to have your resume and elevator speech ready to go, but you can definitely refine them at a career fairs with real world advice.
Why are Career Fares Faster than a Traditional Job Application?
The recruiter will tally up all the numbers and begin calling back students that visited the booth and met the criteria. Sometimes you may get a call the same day, but I would probably expect about a week on average.
If the call back goes well, they will try to schedule an interview as soon as possible. Most likely a bunch of employees at that company already committed to interviewing students for the next few weeks (which is quicker than the alternative). At my last company, following the career fairs, I would often conduct a bunch of interviews back-to-back and so would everyone else participating in the effort.
This is really good news for you because the feedback will be very quick and all of the people involved are invested in helping you join the company. They want you there which is why they are spending time and money to speak with students.
What if I am not a college student? No college, no problem.
So far we have focused on college career fairs, but there are other events that may be available to you even if you’re not in school. For example: if you’re a veteran in the United States, there is an annual SVA fair (aka NatCon) that’s specifically catered to veterans. Check it out here.
Are Career Fairs Really Worth it?
My short answer is yes! After attending a bunch of career fairs as a students and also as a recruiter assistant, I believe that career fairs are the fastest way to get into a tech company before graduating. If you’re on the fence about going to one – definitely go and let me know how it goes. I wish you the best of luck!
