Career fairs are unique opportunities for those seeking employment to get face-to-face with companies that are actively hiring. When prospective employees attend these events they are able to speak directly to hiring managers and recruiters; this is a great chance for jobseekers to market themselves and network.

Because a job fair can be an important career start for many people, you’ll want to be sure you don’t miss it when it comes to your area. It’s also important to properly prepare for this event to ensure you take advantage of any opportunity. Below, we’ll take a look at some tips on how to find and prepare for job fair.

How to Locate a Job Fair

Locating a job fair near you can be relatively easy as many organizations host them on a regular basis. The best way to find one near you is online; there are a couple of websites that can help you with your search:

• Jobfairsin.com
• Nationalcareerfairs.com

Find Out Which Companies Will Be There

This is an important step as it allows you to prepare for meeting specifically with the companies attending. Once you’ve found out which companies will be attending the fair, begin researching them. When you interview with a potential employer at the fair, it’s helpful (and impressive!) to have some knowledge of the background of the company and its current events.

Define Clearly What You’re Looking For

Realistically, you are not going to be interested in a job opening with all of the companies attending the fair. Before attending, decide which companies/jobs you are not planning to apply for; then, map out your plan for interviewing with the other prospective companies in attendance. Having a clear plan before going to the career fair will help you tremendously.

Prepare Your Resume

It’s important that your resume is somewhat tailored towards the job and company you are interviewing with. After deciding which companies you’d like to apply for jobs with, prep your resumes accordingly and print out copies to bring with you. Make sure to double check for errors one final time. Use this guide to make sure your resume stands out!

Ready Your Pitch

When you get in front of a potential employer at the fair, you’ll have a limited amount of time to leave an impression; due to this, you should practice what you plan on saying:

• How you plan to introduce yourself
• What your goals are in your career path
• What you feel your strengths and skills are
• Why you’d like a job with this particular company
• How you feel you can be an asset to this particular company

Practicing your pitch and knowing how you would discuss the talking points above before attending will help you to feel and appear more confident. Companies will appreciate streamlined and well thought-out responses from candidates.

Practice Interview Responses

You won’t be able to know exactly what your interviewer will ask, but you can prepare and practice your responses to some commonly asked questions by employers these days. Try Googling common interview questions and then consider what your responses would be. This will help you to gain confidence before speaking to any of the companies.

Pre-Register for the Fair

Some job fairs give you the ability to pre-register for the fair and even supply your resume in advance to employers. Find out if the fair has the option to do so, as this can give employers extra time to review your information before you attend and meet them face-to-face.