Job Fair Advice: How to Use Your 5 Minutes to Get an Interview

Job Fair Advice: How to Use Your 5 Minutes to Get an Interview

Confused about how to use your few minutes with an employer at a job fair? Not sure how to make that unforgettable impression? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to spend your 5 minutes at a job fair!

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SUMMARY
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First, what not to do…

Before I dive into how I would spend my five minutes, let’s cover what not to do. It's the biggest mistake people make when they go to job fairs.

It’s the same issue I covered in The Number 1 Reason Why You Do Not Get Hired. It’s the same reason you don't get called back after a job fair.

It’s spending your time trying to get out everything there is to know about you, what you think are the highlights of your career (or studies), what you think are your best attributes, and what you think are your most desired skills.

Big mistake.

You spend too much time sharing and don’t know whether that’s what the employer needs to know!

How do you know what the employer seeks?

Try this…

Waltz up to the booth (or person or whoever looks like someone who knows what they’re doing), and say…

“Hi. My name’s Frankie Fabulous. I'd love to share a little bit about myself and learn about your company. Before I do that, could you tell me what you're looking for in an entry-level candidate?”

If you’re a professional…

“Hi. My name’s Susie Sensational. Could you tell me what the most important skills are in [insert whatever position it is you’re looking to attain]?”

Give them a minute or two to share that insight with you. They’ll go on with…

“Well, we're looking for somebody with this kind of background or these kind of skills or these kind of traits.”

You’ll hear a bunch of different stuff like detail-oriented, great communication skills, engineering students, so on and so forth.

Now, you’re a salesperson…

Collect the insight. Then, dive into your remaining 2-3 minutes with exactly how you match exactly what they’re looking for!

As soon as you leave, they’ll be thinking boy, that John Smith…he seemed to match exactly what we needed. We need to call him back.

A gold star…

Most booth people need to jot notes on your resume because they can’t possibly remember everyone.

As soon as you walk away, they scratch on your resume numbers or stars or whatever.

He’s a 2. She’s a 5. Give him a silver star. Give her a gold star. You get the picture.

And, you get a star from me for watching. Thanks!

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ABOUT ANDREW
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Andrew LaCivita is an internationally recognized executive recruiter, award-winning author, trainer, and founder and chief executive officer of milewalk and the milewalk Academy. He’s dedicated his career to helping people and companies realize their potential, consulting to more than two hundred organizations and counseling more than eleven thousand individuals. He often serves as a trusted media resource and is the award-winning author of Interview Intervention, Out of Reach but in Sight, and The Hiring Prophecies.

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ABOUT TIPS FOR WORK AND LIFE®
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Tips for Work and Life® is a weekly careers, hiring, and motivational show full of helpful job search strategies, career management and acceleration tactics, recruitment techniques, and self-help aids with the award-winning author, career coach, and trainer Andrew LaCivita. Tips for Work and Life® has been cited by several sources as a Top 5 Careers and HR Blog. Andrew includes these 7-20 minute multicast shows as part of his blog and podcast.

#milewalkacademy
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#jobfair

[andylacivita]

Hey Everyone! Job fairs are tough. I know it. Let me know what you're struggling with when it comes to them and I will help you!

[ginab.]

This was the best advice thus far. Everyone else suggest elevator pitches. It didn't make sense to me to go up to someone and start talking for 30 secs about myself without letting them get a word in. There has to be interaction and this is the example I was looking for, thanks!

[Chrissanthumum]

I loved that. I actually have a formula that I have been using all day today to try to make an impression at a job fair tomorrow, but I realize that I won't have time to do much research for all the company stalls I want to visit. You really made it simple. Now I feel so much more confident approaching representatives that I otherwise would probably shy away from speaking with just because I did not get to do all the research I wanted to do.Thank you so much!

[Eiad.Alhamed]

Thanks for the video. However, I feel skeptical about this. It feels like being on a date and asking the woman "how do you like your man?" and once she answers, you say "well, that's exactly how I am".

[svetaegorova]

My experience that it's more about how you click with the person who you talk to and not about what they are looking for... And also connections- connections- connections... Thats how they

[robbiebennett]

Thank you so much. I truthfully watched this video this morning before my career fair and this pitched helped me start the conversation off so smoothly every single time. I was able to incorporate it into pitches with companies I already knew. I could throw personal connection in and then use what you said and it was so helpful. I am thankful I watched this video!

[nycbklynrmp]

look at the positions first on their site, it looks like you are proactive and took the time to research

[ToxicRangers]

Got a career fair on Thursday, definitely going to use this advice. Thanks so much!

[shanemaclennan]

Very helpful video, straight forward and concise. Thank you so much!

[HaileySunshineDesigns]

Thank you so much! Headed into a job fair right now and this was huge

[gevindarizkidewi]

Tomorrow, I will attend a job fair and this advice seems wonderful, hopefully it works and I'll get back to you for an update. Thanks, Andy!

[wilsonwong]

Great video. Honestly this video and the one by self-made millennial are all I needed to ball out at my first career fair

[bionicbubble]

Wouldn't the recruiter rather have the candidates already aware of what they are looking for? I thought it was important to research the positions they have open before going to the job fair?

[PoetryPeace]

Greatto Know Prooer prep FOR MY JOBS FAIR . Just in ask about what the employer is looking for!

[Franksdad_deanmartinonrepeat]

Definitely using this tomorrow at my fair. Thanks, Andrew!

[atifghafoor]

Does it make sense to go to these if you already have a job and are looking for other things out there or are they more for people without jobs.

[loveroftruth]

What i dont understand is i was told to research the companies that will be there so you have some prior knowledge about them. But job fairs dont tell you which companies will be there. How can we prepare for that if we dont know what companies will be there?? Thank u sir :)

[shawfinch]

very clear, very well-organized, very helpful. thank you

[Luna]

I'm going to a high school job fair in a couple of days I have resumes printing out and am practicing

[daanishfiaz]

So what if you don't match any of the skills they mention? Do you just say that's interesting and walk away?