As a job seeker, one of the best ways to see what jobs are available and which organizations are hiring is to attend a job fair. It’s like speed dating to find your next occupation!

The best way to attend a job fair is by being prepared to put your best foot forward to make yourself sound like the best possible candidate to join their organization.

As a recruiting organization, Bishop & Company has insider information on how to make a great first impression and help you stand out among the crowd!

Here’s our quick guide on how to prepare for your next job fair and impress organizations and recruiters in Hawaii in order to find a great job close to home.

Be ready to hit the ground running.

Register in advance for the next job fair you see and make sure to put a reminder in your calendar. You might be able to register on-site for the event, but that’s wasting precious time that could be better spent networking. It also gives you something to look forward to and the reminder will help you make sure you’re ready to go when the day comes, starting by..

Polish up your resume, both printed and online, and bring copies.

One of the most important things to bring to a job fair is an up-to-date resume. Take the time to review this before the day of the fair to make sure you’re not missing any titles, experiences, skills, awards, certifications, etc. Your resume is a powerful tool when it comes to making a good first impression with a potential new employer. Job fairs are great because you get to meet people face-to-face, but an impressive and easy-to-read resume can help you land an interview. Make sure your resume has your online profile or resume included at the top — if you don’t have a LinkedIn account, now’s the time to create one and make sure it matches your printed one! If you’re weighing several options, you might want to have different versions of your resume tailored to each industry.

Review the organizations attending and learn more about them.

Taking the time to research potential employers is so important! You don’t want to spend time talking to an organization only to find out after the fact that they’re looking for skills or experience you don’t have (yet) or to determine they’re not in the kind of industry you’re interested in joining. Doing a little homework in advance also means you can find little nuggets to bring up in conversation to show you’ve taken the time to get to know the organization before meeting any representatives. This approach also helps you decide in advance which recruiters and representatives you really want to meet, giving you a focus when approaching a crowded room.

Create an elevator pitch for yourself.

Much like the mission statement some people include on resumes, an elevator pitch is a short, focused, introductory statement you can recite from memory when a recruiter or organizational representative asks about you. It should be succinct and direct: What kind of experience do you have, and what kind of position are you looking for? “I’m a recent graduate looking to build on my organizational and communication skills by finding a position in a growing organization focused on technology and the health care industry. I’m eager to apply my education and training in the Microsoft Office suite and want to begin contributing to an organization right away but also want to continue to learn new skills to stay relevant in an exciting field.” Be direct and clear and deliver this with confidence! Prepare this before you go and make sure you hit the important points quickly.

Have some questions ready.

Going hand-in-hand with doing your research to be able to discuss your interest in the organizations you want to meet, have some questions in hand to ask the recruiter. This underscores your interest in that particular organization and shows that you want to know more about your potential opportunities there. Asking questions about the available jobs is a good place to start, but if you really want to be impressive, ask about organizational culture and how long people tend to stay there. You want to know more than just about the jobs, but about what people like about that organization and what inspires them to stay.

Dress for the day.

Job fairs can be long days filled with lots of time spent on your feet. But this isn’t the time to show up in shorts and a t-shirt with a stray thread on the hem. You want to look polished and professional. Spend some time finding a good outfit that looks good and is easy to move in. The shoes for the day should be professional but comfortable as you might spend a lot of time waiting for your turn to talk with a recruiter, in addition to walking from table to table.

After the day is done and you’ve met with organizations for which you think you’d be a good fit, be sure to follow up and send a note to the recruiters you’ve met to thank them for their time. This is a great opportunity to recap your conversation and remind them of any open positions you discussed. This is also a time for follow-up questions you might have or to provide any additional information they might have requested from you.

Find a Great Job In Hawaii Today

We are a Hawaii-based recruiting firm that knows what our partner organizations are looking for in their candidates, and we’re happy to share our insight with you! Explore our job board and see what we have available, then give us a call to discuss your options. If you’re looking at job fairs and see we’re involved, stop by and talk to our team!