The Employment Guides upcoming Job Fair Event

The Employment Guide is hosting a job fair at The Baltimore Convention Center on Wednesday, July 16th, 10-2 pm.

Why Go?

 To make a good (or great) impression in person (especially important if your resume doesn't necessarily stand out from the crowd).
 To see that the real world is not organized by major: you don't have to be a business major to go to Business Horizons, and you don't have to be an engineering major to go to Engineering Expo. You DO have to look at the list of employers attending in advance (see each fair's web site linked from the career / job fair list), and see what kinds of jobs each employer has.
 To learn more about employers than you can learn from their web site. You learn about the culture of an organization when you meet their people, and you can ask questions.
 Much of the job search process — before you can even get an interview — for both you, the job seeker, and for the employer in trying to find good candidates, is not done in person. It involves employers screening resumes and cover letters, and you reading about employers and viewing their web sites, and the like. Take advantage of opportunities to meet employers face-to-face.
 Some fairs include follow-up interviewing as part of the fair, for a full or half day.

Before you go:

Know which employers are attending.
See the Baltimore Blog to get an updated list on the companies attending the job fair

Have plenty of copies of your resume ready. You might need to prepare more than one version. Always take paper resumes to a career / job fair, even if you submitted your resume in advance to a resume book for the fair. Job fair resume books are often online and the employer won't have access while speaking to you. Even if the employer has a print resume book in hand, she won't waste time looking up your resume on the spot.

Be prepared that some employers cannot accept hard copy resumes and will ask you to apply online. This is to comply with federal regulations about the way employers keep data on applicants.
February 2006 federal regulations had an impact on employers, online job hunters, and how status as a job candidate is determined. In order to comply with these regulations, many employers are requiring all job applicants to apply for jobs online on the employer's web site.

Prepare a 20 to 30 second introduction to use with employers. You don't want to sound like a telephone solicitor reading a script; you do want to sound like you thought about why you're there. It might be something like, "Hello. I'm Daria Henderson, a junior in Communication Studies and Marketing. I'm looking for an internship related to marketing for next summer. I read on your web site that (name of company) has an internship program in your corporate marketing department, and would really like to learn more about this program." Get the idea? Keep in mind that some employer representatives may take control of the conversation quickly and you may do more listening than speaking, but you do want to be prepared to be proactive rather than passive.

Good luck and remember to follow up after the job fair!

Information provided by: How to Prep for Baltimore's Job Fair