3 tips to prepare you for career fairs
Michael P. Coglan
Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: Feature
Students go to college to prepare for careers. But how can they prepare for finding a career?
To help with that crucial step, Kirkwood Community College hosts career fairs where dozens of prospective employers come to meet potential employees.
The annual Career Fair was Nov. 10. Missed it? No problem. Kirkwood will host the Corridor Career Fair in its Recreation Center in the spring.
To get the most out of the spring career fair, Danielle Ebaugh of Kirkwood's Career Services offers these tips:
1. Dress up. "Never attend a career fair in jeans and a T-shirt," Ebaugh said. A career fair is a chance to make a first impression. How you look gets to speak before your mouth does.
2. Go to the career fair with several resumes in hand.
But what if you don't know how to write a good resume? Go to Career Services in Iowa Hall and the staff there will help you set one up or review one you did yourself for free.
Once you have a good resume, Ebaugh said, it's important to not just print off 50-plus copies and hand one out to every employer there. Instead, do a little research into which employers would suit you best. Print out enough for them and devote more time to those specific employers.
3. Don't wait until the end of college to attend career fairs.
"Start networking now," Ebaugh said. Establish contacts now so that when you are ready to get that high-paying career you spent years and thousands of dollars on, you already know who to call.
By following these tips, you can get off on the right foot in your job search.
To help with that crucial step, Kirkwood Community College hosts career fairs where dozens of prospective employers come to meet potential employees.
The annual Career Fair was Nov. 10. Missed it? No problem. Kirkwood will host the Corridor Career Fair in its Recreation Center in the spring.
To get the most out of the spring career fair, Danielle Ebaugh of Kirkwood's Career Services offers these tips:
1. Dress up. "Never attend a career fair in jeans and a T-shirt," Ebaugh said. A career fair is a chance to make a first impression. How you look gets to speak before your mouth does.
2. Go to the career fair with several resumes in hand.
But what if you don't know how to write a good resume? Go to Career Services in Iowa Hall and the staff there will help you set one up or review one you did yourself for free.
Once you have a good resume, Ebaugh said, it's important to not just print off 50-plus copies and hand one out to every employer there. Instead, do a little research into which employers would suit you best. Print out enough for them and devote more time to those specific employers.
3. Don't wait until the end of college to attend career fairs.
"Start networking now," Ebaugh said. Establish contacts now so that when you are ready to get that high-paying career you spent years and thousands of dollars on, you already know who to call.
By following these tips, you can get off on the right foot in your job search.
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