Do Career Fair Employers Just Blow Students Off?

SO, You dressed up, brought a fabulous resume and shook hands with a lot of employers who said "Go apply online." Is that it? Is this employer blowing you off? Couldn't you have applied online at home? Sure. So could everybody else. But by coming to the Career & Internship Fair you showed initiative. You showed up. Applying online is now the next step in the process.

The important thing after the job fair is to keep the ball rolling. Keep in mind that the minute you enter the job fair, you are in an interview and must act professionally at all times. Employers will either make notes on your resume, watch for your application to show-up in their online database, or will just be really impressed with the line 'when I met your representative at the IPFW Career Fair' in your cover letter. The most important thing for you to do is not wait for employers to follow-up with you but for you to FOLLOW-UP WITH EMPLOYERS, WITHIN 24 to 48 hours.

• Ask 'What's the best way to follow-up with you?' THEN DO IT.
• Send thank-you notes to employers with whom you met.
• File away the literature you have collected. It can be helpful later in writing application letters or preparing for interviews. Employers want to hire people who know the company.
• Improve your resume if you learned something which better reflects your qualifications or focus.
• Network: Every person you talk with has the potential to be a job lead. Other candidates can be very helpful. They may have interviewed with a company you had not considered. Share leads, resources and ideas with others
• And yes– GO APPLY ONLINE!

The IPFW Career & Internship Fair is Thursday, September 23rd from 10am-2pm in Walb Union Ballroom.