BC’s Center for Career Connections will have its annual job fair on May 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in U301AB. Current students, alumni and community members can attend this event free of charge to gain some insights about the companies hiring and to build networking opportunities with employers. Those attending the fair must pre-register at the Career Center’s website.
Over 60 employers will be attending this job fair, including the following:
- The City Of Bellevue
- State Farm
- UW Medicine
- Sound Transit
- Kaiser Permanente
- King County
- Sound Credit Union
According to the Center’s website, it’s important to research the organizations that interest you before the fair; be ready to explain to employers why you’re interested in their organization; and prepare to ask them questions. Also, the Center recommends you have your resume updated and printed out for the fair, as this is how employers examine your skills and qualifications. It’s recommended to work on your resume before the fair for improvements to make sure it’s up-to-date. If you need help with building your resume or need job resources, head on over to the Center for Career Connections, either in person at U304 or through their website. They have available resumes and job resources that could help prepare you for the job fair. Additionally, students can access Handshake, a job-site platform available to BC students with job and resume resources, along with access to job opportunities, internships and events based on your qualifications and skills.
At the job fair, you should expect to interact with job representatives to learn about the job opportunities presented, as well as explain to employers what you’re looking for and why you’re a good fit for the company. The Center lists several key things to remember for the job fair:
- Make a strong first impression with employers: Dress in business casual attire, maintain eye contact with job representatives, have a firm handshake and remember the name(s) of the representative interviewing you.
- When talking to interviewers, make sure to smile, speak with confidence and be attentive.
- Prepare to hand your resume to employers. Your employers need your resume to examine your qualifications and see if your skills provide value for the company.
- Make sure to ask employers for business cards or any other contact information to keep in touch with them.
- Explore different organizations, even the ones that may not seem as interesting. Who knows? You might find an organization that’ll interest you.
At the job fair, the Center notes that you can expect to give an elevator pitch to representatives. An elevator pitch is usually a 30-to-60-second introduction about yourself that goes over what you’re looking for and why you’re a good fit for the company hiring. Make sure to practice your elevator pitch before the fair, as this is usually how employers base their first impression on you. When it comes to elevator pitches, remember these four steps from Indeed.com:
- Introduce yourself to the employers.
- Give a quick summary of what you do. Include relevant information about yourself and filter out things that provide no value.
- Explain what you’re looking for in the company. This could be a job opportunity, an internship or the contact information of the employers.
- End the interview with a call to action, which means you could either state or ask what you want to happen afterward. An example of this can be asking for a meeting or reinforcing your interest to the representative. A call to action is a bit intimidating, but it’s preferred to end an elevator pitch with a call to action instead of coming to an abrupt end.
During the job fair, the Center recommends a few strategies: Be ready to answer questions about yourself to employers and build networks with employers, job recruiters, professional organizations and job agencies for information and insights. Check the list of the companies that will be attending and plan how you will approach them by categorizing the ones most important to you. If you’re still interested in a company at the fair, consider having a second visit with them to restate your interests. Again, prepare and work on your elevator pitches, which show representatives what value you bring to an organization. Have your updated resume on hand, be ready to answer various questions and communicate clearly with employers.
After the job fair, if you’re still interested in a company, the Center notes you can have a call with the organization to go over the next steps, or you can follow up with an email showing gratitude that includes an updated resume and briefly go over your qualifications again. Later on, you may get contacted by a company if they’re still interested in you. Remember, some companies may take a while to contact you again, so don’t expect an instant reply. Stay patient, have high hopes, and you may get an interview later on.
Need any more tips for the job fair? Access the Center’s job fair tips document for any additional information. You can also access the Career Center’s website for networking tips to prepare yourself for the fair.
