Employers Want to Meet You at the Career Fair
It’s the best day of the year, the St. John Fisher College Spring Career Fair is back in-person with 50+ employers who want to meet you!
Pre-register through Handshake for the Fair, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, in Cleary Family Auditorium. With Commencement less than 100 days away and summer internship opportunities opening up, now is a great time to meet and connect with local employers. Here are four reasons why you should attend the fair.
Networking Opportunities
Take your networking to the next level in a sequence of three steps: 1.) pre-event research, 2.) meeting employers at the fair (and networking!), and 3.) post fair follow-up.
Step 1. Check out the “Spring Career Fair 2022” event on Handshake to view the 50+ employer attendees. Determining the top five organizations whose representatives you’d like to speak with will allow you to do some pre-event research and create a positive impression on the recruiter throughout your discussion.
Step 2. Networking is a chance for you to meet recruiters from local organizations and build professional relationships. Just remember, the employers are here to see you! Key conversation starters can come from students who use their elevator pitch to introduce yourself and highlight your best credentials. The organization-specific questions will help show off the research completed in step one and impress the employers! Overall, this is your time to hold meaningful conversations that will help lead to further opportunities.
Step 3. After meeting with each employer make note of a few discussion points that can be included in a thank you email. Furthering your opportunity to give thanks, reiterate interests, provide additional comments, and include a call to action for future discussion.
Interview Skills Practice
The objective is to have a low-pressure conversation with someone who works in an area of interest to you! Think of the fair as an informational interview where you can practice your handshake, remember how to maintain eye contact (P.S. we’re not on a screen anymore), and answer spontaneous questions asked by employers. Remember: the recruiters travelled to campus to talk with you, so … strike up a conversation!
Insights (Job, Internship, and Industry)
When speaking with employers, you can ask several questions:
- What do you look for in college hires?
- What does the application process look like for internships and full-time positions at your organization?
- How do you see jobs in the XYZ field changing in the next five years? What do you recommend I do to prepare for that?
- What do you like most about working for XYZ organization?
- What is the best part about your job?
- Do you have a business card I can have for future reference?
Asking the right questions can set you up for a meaningful conversation with an employer and may lead to greater opportunities for you down the road. Remember, finding a job or internship is secondary to the main goal: building connections!
Relax, Learn, & Have Fun
We will have career services professionals present throughout the event, so don’t stress! At the fair our professionals can help with a quick review of a résumé, a practice of your intro (elevator pitch), and can guide you to employers of interest.
P.S. Career Services will be holding weekly $10 gift cards from Starbucks, Chipotle, Target, and Wegmans giveaways leading up to the Fair and will have $50 – $100 gift cards from Amazon, Fisher Bookstore, and Uber for students at the Fair!
What You Can Do to Prepare
Use the resources available for you in Handshake; use the QuickGuides for résumé and networking. Or schedule an appointment with our advisors for résumé review, LinkedIn help, and an informational interview. We also have recordings from our Spring 2022 20 Minute Tutorials series in the resources section on Handshake covering those topics and more!
Follow Us for More Fair Content & Giveaways
Interested in learning more about the services and resources provided by Career Services? Follow us on social media (Instagram @fisherccap and Facebook @fisherccap) for more tips and tricks!
Reach out for Help
Unsure where to begin or who to reach out to? CCAP advisors are available to you! Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also schedule an appointment with a CCAP advisor on Handshake (career cervices) OR FisherLink (academic services).