Who doesn’t seek noticeability, attention, and recognition? We all seek these to make us feel appreciated in different ways and facets of life. Seeking acceptance from friends, family, and peers alike help boost confidence levels and motivates us for excellence in different pursuits.
The joy that we derive from external experiential factors is a true reflection of the inner state of self. While experts advocate strong views on the need to separate, both personal and professional fronts – towards the end of the day we as humans cannot help but succumb to the internal drivers governing mankind – the need to feel wanted, appreciated and recognized.
The need gets further exacerbated on a professional front for fresh graduates and experienced alike when attending job fairs. Vying for the most coveted job roles in a crowded market space brimming with enthused decibels of competition at job fairs can be unnerving to shake off confidence.
Being one amidst the crowd possessing relevant in-demand skills and qualifications can make you feel nervous and less confident in your approach to face the hiring managers seated at respective company booths in the job fair.
Career fairs offer an easy option for the best talent to meet, attend interviews and connect with employers at a single venue. Those students in the final year of graduation should participate in career fairs to understand how the job market works, the skills in demand and prepare accordingly to get selected for in-demand job roles.
You can watch recruiters scanning through piles of applications quickly, interviewing the most suited candidates at the event and perhaps giving away on-the-spot job offers as well. How you wish, you get selected to be a part of the company or job role you aspire, but success isn’t easy. Below are some tips to make yourself stand out from the competition at a career fair:
- Dress for the job you desire
First impression matters and nothing can outdo this fact. Stick to a formal dress code and dress right for the job you aspire and the goal you envision for yourself in the long run. Employers tend to gauge personality traits by the way you dress and communicate during the interview. You should be able to leave an indelible impression on the minds of the interviewer, with impactful grooming and neat dressing sensibilities.
- Do not rush in, but plan effectively
Do not rush in an attempt to get noticed, but plan a strategy on how to approach employers at the career fair. The jobs you are aiming at, the skills and credential you possess, which position you uniquely amidst the crowd.
- Wear a smile and pleasant appearance
We most often tend to discount the way we look and tend to wear a grim-faced only to showcase seriousness in attitude anticipating this could impress recruiters. You are wrong! Employers appreciate candidates who are positive with a smile and pleasant appearance over a grim look. You have got to be serious about work, but not necessarily hold a serious demeanor and outlook towards life.
- Make a strong elevator pitch
The pitch that you make to briefly introduce yourself should be strong and industry-ready. Do not fail to include your name, career aspirations, passion and motivation, emphasizing on strengths while underplaying on weaknesses during this brief rendezvous.
Remember, you have just a few minutes of time on hand to clearly communicate your thoughts and ideas to the prospective employer. So make every attempt to create an indelible impression on the minds of the interviewer. Your elevator pitch should be different to position yourself uniquely from the crowd.
- Ask thoughtful questions that showcase interest
While we do understand as a fresher, there could be initial hitch and fears regarding posing questions to the interviewer and demanding for more company details. It’s been etched as the commonly-held perception that interviewers hold reluctance to answer or maybe your questioning abilities could put your candidature at a disadvantage. This is not true.
Interviewers, on the contrary, appreciate questions from candidates seeking insights about the company and job role on offer. This behavior showcases your keenness to work for the company you aspire. Get over your fears, be confident and ask relevant questions to the interviewer.
- Mix, mingle and network with many recruiters
The career fair is an opportunity for you to reach out to as many recruiters as you can, from different companies under a single roof only on the dates of the fair. So do not miss out on the days to network and mingle with hiring managers from different companies and industry sectors to learn, and market your skills in the competitive arena.
If you feel hiding behind the walls of the online medium and marketing your CV via different platforms is the key to successful careers, did you discount on the waiting period observed for a revert from the hiring managers? Perhaps, you did.
Why wait when you can actually reach out, meet and exchange ideas, share contacts, network and market your skills in a face-to-face interview? In the rapid pace of developments impacting almost every sector, the waiting period most times can cost you to lose out an opportunity. So, do not lose out on the time and opportunity to create an impact.
Get into the groove of the new social-age demand and be quick to capitalize on the power of execution. Immaculate planning but no articulate execution will get you nowhere in the long run!
Read: How to Gracefully Turn Down a Job Offer?
Credits: Graphics designed by www.freepik.com