IPFW Mastodon Job and Internship Fair Sept. 23

Find the list of participating employers at www.ipfw.edu/jobzone!

Job Fair Success

Our job fairs are the largest events we organize at the office of Career Services. We already have 80 employers signed up for the NICE Career Fair. From our experience running these massive events, we've come up with a few suggestions for improving job fair success for students.

Dress Appropriately: One of the most common complaints we get from recruiters is that students don't dress appropriately for our events. Don't let an overly casual appearance detract from your qualifications!

Do Your Research: We post the list of attending employers weeks in advance of our career fairs. Doing prior research on employers of interest will provide you with two benefits. First, you'll come off as more prepared and professional when you speak with employers and second, you'll be less overwhelmed by the number of recruiters available to talk to if you know ahead of time who your target contacts are.

Prepare a Resume, But Don't Be Disappointed if a Recruiter Asks You to Apply Online: There are some anti-discrimination related federal guidelines that prevent larger companies from taking paper resumes from students. If a recruiter asks you to apply online do so and be sure to remind them that you met at the job fair.

Follow-Up: Ask employers 'What's the best way to follow-up with you?' THEN DO IT. Send thank-you notes to employers with whom you met.

Attend the Job Fair Prep Sessions: Take advantage of the drop-in assistance Career Services offers the Monday and Tuesday (April 9^th and 10^th) before the job fair. You can bring in a copy of your resume and get advice on what to wear and how to introduce yourself to employers.
The NICE Career Fair is Wednesday, April 11^th, 1pm-5pm, in the new International Ballroom in Walb.

Job Search Strategies in a Tight Economy: IPFW Alumni Event revisited

If you were like me and just couldn't make it to the Job Search Strategies in a Tight Economy event offered through our office, here is the PowerPoint presentation with lots of great information on:

• resumes
• references
• cover letters
• transferable skills
• networking
• job searching
• interviewing
• coping with job loss

If you would like more information about any of these topics and/or would like to speak to a career counselor, please call our office at (260)481-0689 to set up an appointment.