Job Fair is a great place to find out what internships and jobs are available and to meet employers in general.
At this year’s Job Fair, you can expect to see 134 companies on 129 stands, 24 talks and 16 workshops. As fantastic as that is, the huge selection of jobs (and merchandise 😉) waiting for you can also be overwhelming. To make the Job Fair work for you, you should have a good plan. And a good plan requires a little preparation.
Know what you want
Think about what you are looking for at the Job Fair – an internship, a student job, a permanent position after graduation or something else (a T-shirt?). Also write down what you expect from the internship or job or what conditions are acceptable to you. What kind of working environment would you like to work in? What kind of mentoring and support do you expect? How do you envisage onboarding? What are your preferred working hours? Which office location suits you? Do you expect to work with certain tools or use certain technologies? This may sound like a lot of questions, but once you know what you want, it will be easier to find it.
QR code as a ticket
Now that you know what you want, log on to the CV database. Don’t worry, you don’t need a CV, just fill out the registration form and you can add a CV later. When you register, you’ll receive a QR code, which is a ticket to Job Fair (without it you cannot enter Martinovka 😢) and which will be scanned by employers who want to stay in touch with you after Job Fair.
Check out employers in advance
Now the fun part begins. Use your stalking superpowers and prepare for Job Fair. Search all the companies participating in Job Fair, research what they do, look for their profiles on social media and read what newspapers and portals write about them.
Write down the names of all the companies you liked with a short description of what they do and the questions you’d like to ask them. You can also use a Trello board template for this.
Say everything about yourself in 5 sentences
It’s much easier for employers to talk to you if they know who they’re talking to and what you’re specifically interested in. On the other hand, you’ll benefit more from information that’s important and interesting to you and from direct answers to questions.
Presenting yourself and engaging with employers is a skill like any other, it takes time and practise to master. So, get ready, sketch out how you want to present yourself and practise at home.
If you get nervous, you’ll be glad you have everything prepared. So, write down a few introductory phrases and keep them handy so you can remember them when you “block”.
The formula for presentation is very simple:
who you are and what you do + why you’re interesting to them + what you want
Hi, I’m [first and last name].
I’m a [year of study] student at FER, majoring in [name of your major]. So far, I have [specify what work experience you have, what technologies you know, what projects you’re working on or have worked on].
I am currently looking for [specify what you are looking for – a job, internship, more information about a field]. I know [specify source] that [name the project, technologies used, industry they’re in, or anything else that’s relevant to why you’re approaching them]. I’m interested in [specify what exactly interests you about them]…
/ the conversation will continue naturally from there
And that’s it! See you at the Job Fair on 11 and 12 May in Martinovka Sports Hall!
