Students: Prepare for the Fair

Before Career Fair

• Student guide coming soon!

• Brush up on best practices for videoconference meetings and check your video conferencing capabilities.

• Make sure your resume is up to date.

• Sign up for time slots to speak with recruiters (Open Wednesday, September 8th at 8:00 PM EST for Day 1, 8:30 PM EST for Day 2, and 9:00 PM EST for Day 3).

• Apply for jobs you are interested in online before talking to recruiters. This gets you one step ahead of the game and allows you to have more conversation with recruiters.

• Research companies you are interested in and formulate specific questions for their recruiters.

• Attend Receptions! The more times you can talk to recruiters the better. Let the recruiter remember you!

• Visit https://engineering-umich-csm.symplicity.com/students for more information on companies and job postings. The company list will be posted the week before the career fair.

• Visit https://careercenter.umich.edu/events for events like interview workshops or Clothes Closet which allows a student to pick out up to three articles of business clothing donated from the community.

• Prepare a clean, professional outfit to show your best self to recruiters. 

During Career Fair

• Dress professionally and sit with a neat, well-lit location in the background for your video calls

• Talk to companies you are not extremely interested in first to shake your nerves.   

• BE CALM. You’ve done your research, and are fully prepared to talk to any recruiter that comes your way. Let that personality shine!

• BE MEMORABLE. Recruiters will be talking to thousands of students throughout the day, so make sure to make that connection. Connect with the recruiters on a personal note and give them something unique about yourself.

• BE PATIENT. Waiting in line can be time consuming. Make the most of that time - go over your elevator pitch or do some more company research in line.

• Note a few details from each interaction that can be put into a thank you email to the recruiters you talked with. 

​If you are interested in other events put on by student orgs that will help you prepare for the career fair or company tech talks, please take a look at the Corporate Info Session calendar for more information!

Tips for First-Years

• Don't be afraid to check out the career fair! Practice makes perfect, and the earlier you start going to career fairs, the sooner you will become a pro at talking to recruiters. 

• Update your resume to show your college major and activities. Have an electronic version ready.

• Even if you haven't declared a major, a career fair is still a good way to explore different options. Consider asking company representatives about their own major and how they use it in the organization.

• Perfect your elevator speech​: make it short, 30-60 seconds. 

  • Start with your name, year, and prospective major.​

  • Include these four topics to pull it all together:

    • Skills: ​Include your experiences and skills you bring to the table.

    • Confidence: Show off your strengths & why are you are a good fit for this type of job.

    • Goal: What are looking to gain?

    • Motivation: Why do you want to work there?

• Go to short lines if you are looking for the first internship to maximize the number of companies you can visit. If there is a company you really want to visit that is popular or more likely to have a long line, go really early or really late.

• Remember to jot down contact information and any additional notes as you speak to recruiters.

• Update your Linkedin! Connect with recruiters to show a professional light on your interests.