preparing for career fairs - university of pennsylvania · preparing for career fairs dr. joseph...

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Preparing for Career Fairs

Dr. Joseph Barber, Associate Director

University of Pennsylvania Career Services

[email protected]

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FAQs about career fairs

• I’m uncertain about my future career; how can the

PennDesign Career Connection career fair be helpful?

– Explore the types of internships and jobs advertised by the

employers (e.g., on their website, PennLink)

– www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/careerfairs/studentinfo.php

– Think about how your skills and experiences match the

requirements of the positions, then chat with employers

• Ask informed questions to employers at the fair that

can actually give you actionable information

• “From my research into your firm/organization, I know

that you are working on some interesting projects, such

as X, and I was wondering what type of skills you are

looking for in candidates that would best suit your

needs for this type of project work?”

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FAQs about career fairs

• What are the overall benefits of the career fair?

– An opportunity for you to identify possible employers and

career paths, or to rule out unsuitable ones

– An opportunity for you to start thinking about a Plan B in

case Plan A does not work out

– An opportunity for you to identify actual steps you can

take over the next 6-12 months to make yourself a better

candidate in the future

– An opportunity for you to gain additional information and

contacts = networking

– An opportunity for you to practice introducing yourself to

employers = networking

– An opportunity to apply for internships and jobs!

Do not copy or distribute without permission

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Agenda

• Background research

– About yourself, organizations, internships, and jobs

• Networking

• Your introductions

– Talking about yourself; sharing your portfolio

– Resume essentials

• Some basic career fair advice

– Career fair etiquette

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Know yourself

• Self-assess your interests and skills to get to know

yourself a little better

– This will help you explore a broader range of career

options with more confidence

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/careerexploration/topics.php#self

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Know your discipline

• Have a complete understanding of your discipline, and

of the broad range of career paths you can follow

Review the “Resources by Career

Field” pages and get:

• Advice from Penn alumni

• General career advice

• Links to associations and job lists

• Links to Penn-specific resources

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/careerfields/#design


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http://whatcanidowiththismajor.com/major/architecture/

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Know the organizations

• Who is attending the career fair:


• Follow on LinkedIn to gain additional insights

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Know the organizations

• Who is attending the career fair:


• Follow on LinkedIn to gain additional insights

• Vault and Wetfeet guides


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Know where others have boldly gone

• Career Plans Surveys

– www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/reports.php#grad

• QuakerNet

– www.myquakernet.com

• LinkedIn

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Career Plans Survey

• Career Plans Surveys

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QuakerNet (alumni database)

www.myquakernet.com


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LinkedIn

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PennDesign specific groups


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QuakerNet

LinkedIn

Internship

supervisors

Friends

Family

Other alumni

networks

Classmates

Faculty

Association

members Student group

members

NETWORKING

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What is Networking?

?


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Is this networking?

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Networking as a process

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Networking as a process


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So what is networking?

• One way to define it is as a consequence

– If you have cultivated many friends, colleagues, clients, or

collaborators, you are networking

– If you have strategically used your contacts to find info or

seek out new opportunities, you have already networked

• Looking for people who can support your career progress

– Using their knowledge, their contacts, their connections, or

their recommendations about you

At career fairs:

• Asking employers how your unique interests, skills, and

knowledge could best be applied at their organization

• Speaking with Penn alumni who are representing their

employers about their own career pathway

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Networking is…

• An opportunity for you to share information about

yourself

– As part of a mutual exchange of information and ideas

between individuals

At career fairs:

• You can just ask questions…

• BUT, you will make a better impression

by talking confidently and positively

about yourself, and your skills, interests

and experiences

• A little practice can be helpful…

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Let’s get introduced

• Introduce yourself to your neighbour as you might if

you were introducing yourself to an employer

– You have 60 seconds!

• Listen to their 60-second introduction

– Listen for ways their introduction differs from yours


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Let’s get introduced

• What were you most interested in hearing about when

you were the listener?

• How did you try to structure your own introduction?

– What do you think are the most important topics to

cover in 45-60 seconds?

– How do you end your introduction?

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The most important tool for networking

• Your introduction!

– Answers the “tell me about yourself” question

– Starts the conversation

• A general introduction can include:

– Some info about relevant work/academic experience and

achievements

– A little about your key skills and interests – what you can

do really well, and how you are looking to apply them

– A confident statement about your future plans/goals

– Some overall idea of how the person you are talking with

can help you (if they can help you)

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Let’s get re-introduced

• Practice helps…

• Find someone else and introduce yourself again?

– Listen to their introduction


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Yes, don’t bother putting

your glasses on, headless

co-worker, this one has 3

typos in it – let’s toss it

Creating a Resume

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Resumes = currency of career fairs

• Transactions that occur at career fairs:

– Be prepared to give your resume to employers

– Always ask for business cards from employers

– Generally, business cards are not given to employers

• Resumes need to be tailored

– At least for industry (e.g., consulting, design, architecture,

non-profit, public sector, private, etc.)

– Perhaps even for employers (based on research on who

will be attending fairs)

• Keep it concise, and ensure it is easy to read over quickly

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• Contact information*

• Objective

• Summary or profile

• Education*

• Relevant coursework

• Technical skills

• Specialized skills

• Relevant experience*

• Leadership activities

• Service/volunteering

• Honors and awards

• Languages

• Other experience

*required/expected

RESUME (skills)

• People may only spend 30

seconds reviewing resumes

– If your skills aren’t obvious

then you are not maximizing

your impact

• Look at your resume and

write down the 3-4 main

points/skills/experiences

you want to get across

– What information would you

want an employer to walk

away with?


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YOU EMPLOYER

Are you communicating effectively?

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

• Your descriptions do not match what you actually did • You are describing tasks not skills • You are assuming a common knowledge of experience • Your language is problematic (unclear, jargon, too specific)

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

• Your statements are misinterpreted • The reader pictures something different than you do • There is no shared contextual experience • The reader does not understand what is written

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

Blah blah blah

TRY…

?

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YOU EMPLOYER

Blah blah blah?

? ?

…TRY…

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YOU EMPLOYER

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah!

? ?

?

…AND TRY AGAIN

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YOU EMPLOYER

I identified and creatively solved a longstanding problem!

Real-time tailoring of language/examples used to promote understanding

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YOU EMPLOYER

Are your resumes a good stand-in for you when you are not there to explain/interpret?

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CV/RESUME 101

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The basics

SPELLING MISTEAKS

Why are these so important?

– Attention to detail

– Effective communication

– Distracting from actual content of resume

Why do these happen?

– Your brain falls asleep after reading your own resume for the 100th time

– You haven’t selected the option in Word to spellcheck words in ALL CAPITLES

– You haven’t had a critique from a career advisor

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Common errors

PROFESSIONAL EXPEREINCE

– PROFESIONAL EXPERIENCE

Words that are spelt correctly but that are not the right words:

– From/form; asses/assess; discuss/discus; is/if

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F ORMAGoal of resume is to transfer information (content) quickly and efficiently into brain of reader

– Poor formatting disrupts flow of information

– Poor formatting distracts reader from content

– Poor formatting provides a reason to say “no”

Made-up statistic:

– 86% of all employers don’t care about format of resume…, until it suddenly and unexpectedly annoys them – then it’s all they can focus on

True fact:

– There is no single format you have to use – find the best way to get your content across effectively

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When talking about EXPERIENCE

Skill – Situation – Outcome

• Skill

= active doing verb (taught, researched, solved…)

• Situation

= enough context to make the skill make sense without distracting reader from the skill

Not just “analyzed data” – think type, amount, method used

• Outcome

= the result of you using that particular skill in that context (e.g., paper, presentation, new collaboration, more efficient approach, new insight, finished project…)

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Resume = skills in action

• Good teamwork and management skills

• Worked with team on research projects

• Oversaw progress of team towards completing research

• Oversaw 5-person team working on research

• Oversaw 5-person team comprised of planners and

engineers from 3 departments by developing action

plans and clear project goals, resulting in effective

completion of project on-time and under budget.

Be skill &

outcome specific –

add quantifiable

elements to make

your experiences

believable


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What employers are looking for

• Someone who can do the job

• Someone who understands their unique needs

• Someone who can speak the language

• Someone who fits

• Someone who can communicate

• Relevant keywords

• An excuse to put your application in the “no” pile

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PORTFOLIO

• “Don't add every project that isn't going to represent

something that you may do there. Only put in the ones

that will excite them to let them know that you have

the experience that will help them do what they need

to do. So when you are crafting your submission to

firms it almost like you are putting together a proposal

for a project. You really have to be intentional and

specific to where you want to go”

• “I would say 4-5 design sheets of your work is usually

the way to go”

• “I don't know if there is too many, but if you put

irrelevant projects first they are not going to get to the

rest”


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Share your portfolio with enthusiasm

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Know what you want to highlight

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Be prepared for a close look

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Make it accessible

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Some general tips

• Don’t ask these questions:

– “So…, what does your company do?”

– “I don’t have any questions for you, but can I just give

you a copy of my resume?”

– “Looking at my resume, what do you think I could do

at your company?”


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Do… A perfect introduction – firm handshake and good eye contact!

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Do… A perfect introduction – firm handshake and good eye contact!

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Take Care! Consider putting your bags on your left shoulder so that they don’t slip

down and knock everything off the table as you reach to shake hands!


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Take Care! Consider putting your bags on your left shoulder so that they don’t slip

down and knock everything off the table as you reach to shake hands!

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Take Care! They spent time setting this up – don’t knock it down by mistake!

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Do… Always have plenty of copies of your resume available to hand to

employers. Keep them neat & tidy, and don’t spill your lunch on them!


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Take Care! Cups full of liquid have the tendency to spill when you least want them

to. Always keep your right hand free to shake hands with the employer.

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Do… Enjoy yourself at career fairs, and always project a positive, lively

persona. Employers meet many people, help yourself be noticed.

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Do… Smile and have fun. Don’t walk around with a sour face..., ooops


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Do… Speak clearly and loudly – you have to be heard above the noise.

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Take Care! Work schedules may not permit it, but business casual is usually better

than casual at career fairs. Take every opportunity to sell yourself.

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Do… Dressing smart is especially important when you know you will be

talking to smart-dressed employers. Business casual works just fine.


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Take Care! That bag is trying to make a break for it – ready to slip off as you shake

hands to say goodbye. Make sure to leave a good last impression.

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Do… Avoid grabbing freebies before you have chatted with the employer.

Only take them if you have somewhere to carry them out of sight.

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Career fair etiquette

• Thank the employer/representatives for coming

• Be aware of students behind you – don’t monopolize

employers

– Ask if you can follow-up after the fair if you have more

questions or more to share

• Take advantage of employers with short lines

• Plan your time wisely – the fair will end at 4pm, and

employers will need to leave

• Don’t just leave a copy of your resume on each table


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After the fair

• You have business cards, send a thank you email

– Include any additional materials or information you

said you would send

• Continue to expand your network and explore career

options by reaching out to alumni and employers

• Get ready for interviews

– Use www.penn.interviewstream.com

– Call 215 898 7530 to set up a 60-minute mock

interview at Career Services

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More resources

• Wetfeet Insider Guide:

– Follow this link: www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/library/

– Click on “online subscriptions”. Sign in and then scroll down to

Wetfeet, and click on this link

– Look for the insider guides in the top right-hand corner

– Search for “Conquering the Career Fair” guide. This includes:

• How to prepare for the career fair & determine your objectives

• How to stand out from the crowd and leave a good impression

• The appropriate ways to dress and present yourself

• How to identify new networking contacts

• What recruiters are looking for at career fairs

• The right way to follow up afterwards

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Questions?


preparing for career fairs - university of pennsylvania · preparing for career fairs dr. joseph...

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