How do I prepare for my school's career fair

[Amphetamine Salts]

so career fair is on november 2nd. i will certainly be attending. i am wondering how can i best prepare for this day? i was told that P4s are able to participate in as many interviews as they want and that there will be about 30 employers there. in order to maximize how much i get out of this, i want to interview with every employer. i plan to structure a brief and adaptable resume and bring several copies with me. i'm thinking about printing business cards as well so i can hand those out when needed. are there any other tips that i should know? i'm really looking forward to secure any type of job offer from this fair. at the moment i have no offers so i would be grateful to get some kind of opportunity for full time, thanks.

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[Abby Atwood]

When I attended a career fair, the weirdest thing was the transition from one interview to the next. Different interviews run different lengths. You might have to end an interview to avoid making a bad impression at the next place. I don't really have advice for this unless the interviews are short enough that you can give yourself dead space between them.

They are interviewing a lot of people. You might stand out more if you can provide them with a dossier about yourself that contains a letter of intent, your resume, and reference letters. I wouldn't make these too fancy if you make them (you need 30+ so that would be expensive). You could probably just make 1 dossier for each interview. In my experience, if two people from a company attended a career fair, they split up to interview people at separate tables. You will only meet with one.

With 30 interviews, it will be hard to do research on each hospital/company and remember them. You want to enter each interview knowing who you are interviewing with. Make yourself a cheat sheet to glance at right before the interview. Think of some general questions that you can ask at any place you interview, have a few specific questions for each place, and listen during your interview so that you don't ask about something they already answered and so you can ask unprepared questions about things that come up.

Make sure to ask about next steps. Applying online, etc.

 

[Rouelle]

Make sure your resume looks professional. So many of your classmates will show up with resumes that look like they were a class assignment completed 5 minutes before they were due. Don't be one of those people.

 

[Lnsean]

so career fair is on november 2nd. i will certainly be attending. i am wondering how can i best prepare for this day? i was told that P4s are able to participate in as many interviews as they want and that there will be about 30 employers there. in order to maximize how much i get out of this, i want to interview with every employer. i plan to structure a brief and adaptable resume and bring several copies with me. i'm thinking about printing business cards as well so i can hand those out when needed. are there any other tips that i should know? i'm really looking forward to secure any type of job offer from this fair. at the moment i have no offers so i would be grateful to get some kind of opportunity for full time, thanks.

Most of them are just there to build a connection with the school...you might get lucky with one of the big 3 chains...but most of the jobs are already spoken for by their own interns. I'm surprised that schools still host these "career fairs." Almost all jobs outside of retail will require fellowships or residency...so what's left...Walgreens/CVS/Walmart/Rite Aid?

 

[Wickett]

Most of them are just there to build a connection with the school...you might get lucky with one of the big 3 chains...but most of the jobs are already spoken for by their own interns. I'm surprised that schools still host these "career fairs." Almost all jobs outside of retail will require fellowships or residency...so what's left...Walgreens/CVS/Walmart/Rite Aid?

Purely anecdotal, but I managed to land a job with a desirable grocery chain solely from my career day interview/never worked for them. Also a lot of other kids in my class got offers from our career day as well. It would be folly to assume you will land a job from it, but it's still a really good opportunity people should take seriously. I agree it isn't a great way to land a non retail gig, but having a retail offer in your back pocket even if you desire hospital/residency isn't a bad thing.

#1 priority should be to get employed upon graduation....I know many people that went somewhere like CVS while job hunting still for non retail gigs and got a better job within a year. It's always a lot easier to get hired if you're currently practicing.

 

[Wickett]

so career fair is on november 2nd. i will certainly be attending. i am wondering how can i best prepare for this day? i was told that P4s are able to participate in as many interviews as they want and that there will be about 30 employers there. in order to maximize how much i get out of this, i want to interview with every employer. i plan to structure a brief and adaptable resume and bring several copies with me. i'm thinking about printing business cards as well so i can hand those out when needed. are there any other tips that i should know? i'm really looking forward to secure any type of job offer from this fair. at the moment i have no offers so i would be grateful to get some kind of opportunity for full time, thanks.

Your fair may be structured differently, but there weren't enough interviewers for everyone to interview with everyone they wanted. We ranked our preferences and the school generated our interview schedule...most only got 4-5 interviews. Expect the typical interview questions, but RESEARCH the places you interview with. Be able to give specific reasons why you want to work for them.

It's surprising how many don't bother to look up the companies they may work for. The main reason I impressed interviewers was because I could talk about specific things about the company that I liked.

 

[Apotheker2015]

so career fair is on november 2nd. i will certainly be attending. i am wondering how can i best prepare for this day? i was told that P4s are able to participate in as many interviews as they want and that there will be about 30 employers there. in order to maximize how much i get out of this, i want to interview with every employer. i plan to structure a brief and adaptable resume and bring several copies with me. i'm thinking about printing business cards as well so i can hand those out when needed. are there any other tips that i should know? i'm really looking forward to secure any type of job offer from this fair. at the moment i have no offers so i would be grateful to get some kind of opportunity for full time, thanks.

You're applying for a 6-figure job. Look the part. Wear an expensive suit -classic, dark colors, white shirt, red tie, and nice shoes. Have tissue on you to wipe off sweat if it gets hot.
Bring a leather bound notebook - something to take notes with and to have questions ready for your interviewers.

Research the companies and their culture. They're usually very proud of their culture and you should know about it because you will either fit in or not. So you need to at least be able to hold the kool-aid in your mouth long enough without puking in your mouth. Just saying...