Are you think­ing….
Should I go to the career fair? I don’t know…I’m not a senior yet. How use­ful could it be?

VERY use­ful. Here’s the deal. This Fri­day over 116 employ­ers will assem­ble in Dil­lon Gym to meet YOU and tell YOU about their orga­ni­za­tions. If you’re inter­ested in a full-time job, an intern­ship, or a fel­low­ship, the career fair is a great way to meet rep­re­sen­ta­tives of your prospec­tive career or post-grad path. If you are a junior or senior, you prob­a­bly already knew this. If you are a fresh­men or sopho­more, you may won­der if it is worth your time to go, or if it is too soon in your col­lege career to speak with employers.

No mat­ter what your class year, you are prob­a­bly NOT think­ing: “This is going to be a breeze.”

Why shouldn’t it? Sure, everyone’s in suits (includ­ing you!), but a for­mal envi­ron­ment doesn’t mean that this isn’t also a learn­ing oppor­tu­nity. If you’re a fresh­man or sopho­more, this is a great event to attend to get a feel for var­i­ous indus­tries and to learn how to make a crisp first impres­sion. If you’re ner­vous, here’s the remedy.

Just think: What does camp­ing in the wilder­ness and going to a career fair have in com­mon? Answer: You’ll be bet­ter off doing both if you’re prepared. 

Here are three ways to get the prepa­ra­tion you need to thrive, not just survive:

1. Check out Career Fair tips here. There’s more that a lit­tle finesse involved in “work­ing” the career fair. These tips will take you from just another stu­dent in the crowd to that student—the one on top of her/his game who makes an unfor­get­tably sharp impres­sion. That can—and will—be you!
2. Research par­tic­i­pat­ing employ­ers. Tiger­Tracks has a list of all the employ­ers you’ll meet. Pick some favorites, and do a good Google search. Then, plan some company-specific ques­tions to get the con­ver­sa­tion flow­ing. It will look good when employ­ers see you’re curi­ous AND that you know a thing or two about their companies. 
3. Get feed­back. Career Ser­vices is offer­ing extended walk-ins from 2–5 pm every day this week until Thurs­day. Coun­selors will offer friendly, expert feed­back on your resume and ele­va­tor pitch (the way you will intro­duce your­self to employ­ers). If you’ve never been to a career fair before, this is an excel­lent oppor­tu­nity to get prepared.

Okay, if you are think­ing: “This isn’t for me. I enjoy curl­ing up with a good text­book. I’m not a meet and greet type of person.“

I have two things to say to this. One, of course you are! You’re (clearly) smart, tal­ented in your own ways, and, if the median per­son on cam­pus is any indi­ca­tion, you’re really, really, ridicu­lously good look­ing. Two, in that case at least come for the LinkedIn Photo Booth. Career Ser­vices will be offer­ing free pro­fes­sional head­shots near the gym entrance. This is a great way to pro­fes­sion­al­ize your LinkedIn pro­file and get rid of that mys­tery photo at the top of your page. 

Look­ing for­ward to see­ing every­one at the fair—come early and come prepared!