Resume Tips For Job Fairs

If you are getting ready to attend a job fair, one thing you absolutely must bring along with you is your resume, but you need to make sure you have enough copies. Another issue to consider is what your resume is going to say, since you can’t individualize them for different companies in advance, unless you already know what companies are going to be there. So you’ll have to decide on the best “general purpose” resume before you go.

Then there’s the matter of a cover letter. You won’t want to attend without one of those either. Here is a step-by-step plan to making sure you’re fully prepared when you arrive at the job fair.

Research the job fair

Find out how many potential employers will be there, and if possible, their names. If there are any you know in advance you are interested in working for, you can prepare a customized resume and cover letter for those companies. Otherwise, try to gauge how many companies you think you’ll be applying at based on anything you know about the attendees.

Are they all in your industry, or only some of them? Are there a couple of industries represented that you are interested in, or only one? You’ll probably want to make sure you bring along about a dozen copies of your resume if you aren’t sure how many applications you’ll be filling out.

Prepare your resumes

Make customized resumes with individually crafted objective goals for any specific jobs and companies you can, and put your most relevant experience on top. After that, for each industry/job type you know will be represented, make several resumes that cater toward that subset of goals. If the job fair is totally broad, and/or you have no idea who is showing up, you’ll need to prepare generic resumes that illustrate the best of all your qualities.

Prepare your cover letters

Follow the same steps as you did with your resumes when you put together your cover letters (which should be stapled onto their respective resumes). For highly specific resumes, include highly specific cover letters. For more generic resumes, attach cover letters that are more generalized. Usually employers do not like generic resumes and cover letters, but in a job fair situation, it will usually be understood.

Plus, at the job fair you have a chance to tell the employer more about yourself in person, which makes your resume more memorable, since you can refer back to it as you speak.

A job fair is an excellent opportunity to get your foot in the door during difficult times.

It’s pretty tough to get from a resume to an interview, but with a job fair, you have a chance to make an impression in person on an actual human being. If you are impressive enough at the job fair, there is a really good chance you will be called back in for a second interview. At a job fair you can demonstrate enthusiasm which you can’t easily convey through your resume.