It’s that time of the year again!!

September 2012 – I can never forget the month that has brought me to where I am right now. I had been in the country for just a little over than a month and was still getting used to the fact that I had to cook my own food, do my laundry and pay my own bills. I was out of my comfort zone - no more of mom’s food, no more being in the country that had become my home of 23 years, and no taking money out of dad’s pocket for spending on friends and roadside food.I was lazing around still trying to figure out which bus went to the Wehner building at A&M and which went to Walmart. I was more interested in fiddling around with the first smartphone that I ever owned (an iPhone 4S if you’re wondering…oh by the way, I still have the same phone even today) than actually searching for a part time job.That’s when our career advisor sent out an email with the subject line reading “Engineering Career Fair 2012”. I was like ‘What! I came here just a month back and hardly have any skill to show and there’s a fair already?’. That email got me thinking and actually a little scared. Well here’s the thing…I like to think that everything will turn out well in the end but at the same time, I prefer having a plan B if things didn’t actually turn out alright.I started doing some research and focused on how I was going to get through the career fair and be the professional that the employers expect us to be. I’d like to think that this small research of mine is what landed me the internship at Valero Energy and eventually ended in a full time opportunity with the same company.What am I doing here writing this blog? I thought I’d share my experience with all you folks out there. Engineer fair, business fair…online job application…no matter how/where you apply, I hope this works for you as it did for me.

1. Take time to research about the company that you are applying to. If you’re at a career fair where there’s like a bazillion companies visiting, you don’t necessarily have to go talk to all of them. Skim through the list and approach the companies that you’re genuinely interested in. Get the facts about them right and make a note of it on your notepad or tablet or whatever you feel comfortable with. Don’t tell the recruiters something from the company website – THEY KNOW THAT ALREADY. Don’t spit out facts about their yearly turnover or profit percentage – THEY DON’T CARE. Talk to them about something the company does that you genuinely are interested in.
2. Don’t carry the same stock resume for all the companies. I’m not saying that you need to have individual resumes for each company. Try to tailor your stock resume to suit the profile you’re applying for. Example – if you are applying for a programming job, focus more on the technical skills you have. If it’s a management position, focus more on how well you get along with people
3. If you know someone at that company, don’t miss an opportunity to use their name in your conversations with the recruiter (as long as you use the name in a good context of course)
4. When you are standing in the queue at the fair to talk to the recruiter, listen in on their conversations with the guy/lady they are talking to (without making it look like you’re eavesdropping – that’s going to look bad). Use what they say to strike a conversation with the recruiter when it’s your turn to talk.
5. Have a short and clean 30second elevator pitch. Don’t let your elevator pitch be a copy of your resume. The recruiter doesn’t need you there if your resume says it all. I always include a unique skill/hobby of mine that’s not in my resume in my pitch. Once you do this, wait a few seconds for the point you’ve made to sink in to the recruiter’s mind.
6. Never visit a booth with your friends’ circle. Go alone. Going with your friends only distracts you and can cause you to lose focus. Trust me…no matter how hard you try to remain focused, that won’t work when you’re with friends.
7. If you are going to talk about a particular technology term or something you think is important, make sure you get the facts right. For example, there is no such ERP solution called as sap. It’s SAP (prounounced S.A.P.). Making mistakes like this only pulls you down.
8. Avoid too many negative words in your conversation. For example, if the recruiter asks you about your weakness, instead of saying ‘my weakness is…’, try saying ‘one thing about myself which I am working on improving is…’. It’s the same thing but said in a positive and constructive way.
9. Don’t walk across a booth at the fair too often. It kind of gives an impression that you’re indecisive and uncertain of what you want to do. Make a note of where the companies are located at the fair and try to move about in an organized and planned way. If you could, visit the place where the fair is planned for, a day before the actual event and get a glimpse of the organization of the booths.
10. You are at the fair for a job and NOT FOR FREEBIES. Imagine walking to an Apple booth carrying a freebie from Google. That’s like -10points for you even before you can open your mouth. Job first freebies later :)
11. Carry a padfolio and organize your notes and fliers provided by the various companies. Also, make enough copies of your resume. The last thing you’d want is to tell the recruiter that you don’t have a resume. If I am a recruiter, then that candidate is a strict no fit in my opinion.
12. LinkedIn – this should be a really importance and vital part of your job search. Keep this updated as much as you can. Well…applying for jobs on LinkedIn is a separate article altogether and I’ll get to it sometime when I get an opportunity. Don’t add anyone and everyone on your connections list on LinkedIn. There’s Facebook for that. Add people only if you think there is something common between you and that person or if you think there is something they have that you could benefit from.
13. MGMT 101 – If there is a company that you really like at the fair and think you stuck a chord with, at the end of the day right before you leave, stop by their booth and thank the recruiter you spoke with for their time. If it is something online, send them a thank you note. It goes a long way into helping them remember you.
14. I like to keep the best for the last – GROOMING. There is no such thing as being overdressed for an event. It’s better to wear a suit than come in casuals to a job fair. Now don’t tell me that no one comes to a fair in casuals because, they do! And for goodness sake, take the effort to actually press your clothes, learn how to make the perfect tie knot and carry some mint with you. I once had a guy talk to me at the fair and all I was thinking of was what flavor of coffee he had had that morning (I am going to say pumpkin spiced chai latte haha)

Well…that is all I can think of for now...but if I can think of anything after I make this blog public, I’ll come back in and add it (I promise :) ).Till then,Cheers,K