By: Nicole Hitch

Planning on attending a career fair or forum?  Here is a checklist to help prepare you to be successful in your pursuit of your next great opportunity.  Remember, you only get one chance at a first impression, so let’s put your best foot forward.

• Dress Professionally – Men: Wear a dark solid colored matching suit with a white button-up collared shirt (pressed and clean) with a plain tie (no prints or crazy patterns); Ladies: also wear a dark solid colored matching suit (skirt or pants are fine) with a white or cream colored blouse.  For both, make sure your shoes are clean, scuff free and match your outfit.
• Bring breath mints or breath spray. No one enjoys speaking to someone with smelly breath.  However, don’t chew gum when you are meeting recruiters, managers or representatives of the company as chomping on gum during a conversation is not appealing.
• Go easy on any perfume, cologne, aftershave or fragrant lotion, and keep any jewelry to a minimum.
• If you own pets that shed, bring a small lint roller with you in your car and do a quick check before going into the career fair.
• If you are a smoker, don’t smoke in your suit.  If you have smoked in the suite in the recent past, Febreeze it!
• Have multiple copies of your resume printed up on nice resume paper with your picture on the top.  If someone asks why you have your picture on top, explain that you figured there would be many people meeting with them and thought it might be easier for them to remember you if you put your face with your name on your resume.  (Make sure the picture you use is a professional headshot, not one you have cropped someone else out of.)
• Do your homework.  If there are certain companies that will be at the job fair that you are interested in, do your research, know about them, what positions they have posted and have the reasons why you would be a good fit ready to discuss.
• Treat every meeting as an interview with a potential employer. Smile and give good firm handshakes when you meet the representatives for the different companies, stand up straight, or sit up straight, be genuinely interested in the company, the person who is representing the company and their positions.
• You don’t want to come across as a pushy sales person, so have professional questions ready to go, be a good listener and be genuinely interested in the person you are speaking with.
• Have your 30 second elevator speech ready!  What I mean by this is, if you have 30-60 seconds with a recruiter or manager to tell them what you bring to the table, you need to be ready with a concise answer that really hits on the highlights of why you are the best candidate for your area at that job fair.  Remember they are meeting tons of applicants (some qualified and some not), you need to show them why they should learn more about you and your skills.
• If you are discussing a particular position with one of the recruiters or managers, ask for the interview.  Have your calendar with and politely let them know that you are very interested in the position and would like to schedule a time to meet with them to further discuss your qualifications and how you would be able to help their company achieve its’ goals.
• I know I mentioned it earlier, in one of my points, but it is worth mentioning again, SMILE!  It is much easier for someone to connect with you if you look happy, than if you look nervous, upset, frustrated, bored and so on.  Not only will you be able to build a better rapport with the people you are meeting with, but you will also feel more relaxed.  Try it as you read this, SMILE… see… did you feel yourself relax and feel better? J

I hope this checklist helps you in your quest to find your next wonderful opportunity.  Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions at nhitch@bluewaveprofessionals.com.

Happy Career Fair!!!

By: Nicole Hitch

It is amazing how many people I have spoken with lately that are looking for work and somehow still think that by purely looking though employment opportunities on job boards and applying online with a generic resume is going to land them their next dream job.  This topic has been in the news, in many blogs, on the radio and all over various newspapers and magazines, yet so many have not yet gotten the picture.  Job seekers… you must do better than that!

Think outside the box and get creative!  Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes with 500 resumes in front of you and one opening, what would get your attention and make you want to learn more about the person in the resume?  Or if you are going to a job fair or career forum, what will set you apart from everyone else there?  What will get you noticed (in a positive way)?

Based on my observations and experiences here are a few thoughts for job seekers. ..

• When applying for jobs, tailor your resume for each job you are applying to!  Don’t just put together a general resume with your jobs in chronological order and brief descriptions of your experience…  Your resume is basically your print ad; you need to make it jump out of the pile.  The front page should be a basic “Cliffs Notes” of what you bring to the table for that specific position/company.

• Follow up!!!!!  If you apply online, follow up with a phone call to make sure they got your completed application and show your interest.  Mail your cover letter and application to the company as well as apply online.  Go in person to hand deliver your cover letter and resume.   Kevin Donlin had a great idea on KARE-11 that has also worked for some; mail your resume in a Thank You note, thanking the manager for taking the time to read your resume.  The point is DO more and think outside the box!

• If you are going to a job fair or career forum, put your professional picture on your resume.  The recruiters there see tons of people and it may be one more thing to help them remember you.

• I should not have to say this, but if you are going to a job fair, career forum, or going to hand in your resume in person dress professionally!!!  You never know who you will meet and you don’t get a second chance at a first impression!

If you want to hear more of my ideas on this topic, please feel free to e-mail me at nhitch@bluewaveprofessionals.com I am also sure there are many more wonderful and creative ideas out there and I would love to hear them and would welcome any discussion, questions or am here to collaborate with to come up with more great ideas.