{"id":7304,"date":"2020-06-08T11:13:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T18:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/?p=7304"},"modified":"2021-08-25T22:36:43","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T05:36:43","slug":"an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overview of How Career Fairs Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Career fairs are events designed to introduce students or potential employees to opportunities within their field of interest. Employers, businesses and organizations set up booths and informational sessions to showcase what they do and the talent they\u2019re looking for.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_50 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-69ec0876e1bd0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69ec0876e1bd0\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work\/#Preparation\" title=\"Preparation\">Preparation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work\/#Marketing\" title=\"Marketing\">Marketing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work\/#Presentations\" title=\"Presentations\">Presentations<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/an-overview-of-how-career-fairs-work\/#About_the_Author\" title=\"About the Author\">About the Author<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>There are multiple styles of career fairs. Some have an emphasis on specific fields or careers, and others are a general fair. They can be a marvellous way to connect with employers or future business partners but manage your expectations. Most participants will not walk away with a job offer but should walk away with valuable insight, and important contacts that could develop into something more if you play your cards right.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Preparation\"><\/span>Preparation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Though enormous rooms packed with bodies and booths may give off an atmosphere of a comic-con or food fair, this is a professional event and should be treated as one. First impressions at a career fair can make or break a contact or job offer. Make sure you are wearing business-professional clothing and have resumes or business cards to hand out. Bring a briefcase or professional handbag to accept pamphlets, business cards or other promotional material.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you have monitored the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.ca\/o\/tech-talent-meetup-bcjobsca-9488439374\">event<\/a> beforehand and taken notes of who you want to connect with, and which speakers you want to see.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Marketing\"><\/span>Marketing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You will market yourself at a career fair, whether you are an attendee or a presenter. Your job is to connect with employers, employees or other businesses. Make sure you\u2019ve done your research and formed an agenda. This will allow you to research the right companies or potential recruits so your questions can go deeper than what is available on a website or LinkedIn page. You need to be knowledgeable and have formed a pitch that introduces who you are, your skills and accomplishments, and what you have to offer. It needs to be engaging but informative.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Presentations\"><\/span>Presentations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Most fairs will include seminars or keynote speakers that offer helpful advice, insider tips and encouragement to the job-hunter. Even if this is the only helpful thing you take away, it\u2019s important to listen and pay attention. These speakers will be respected in the industry and will have helpful insight.<\/p>\n<p>Take advantage of speakers in your field of interest, soak up as much information as you can about the ins and outs of your dream career &#8211; but don\u2019t neglect the other speakers! Unexpected topics may surprise or inspire you to try something new. You may create partnerships that you wouldn\u2019t normally consider.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, these fairs can be a wonderful way to learn more about your future career, or foster connections that can further opportunities and relationships in the professional world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Posts:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/virtual-career-fair-may-13th-virtual-tech-talent-day\/\">Virtual Career Fair \u2013 May 13th \u2013 Virtual Tech Talent Day<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/what-are-career-fairs-are-they-worth-it\/\">What Are Career Fairs: Are They Worth It?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/bc-jobs-hosts-1st-virtual-marketing-career-fair\/\">BC Jobs: Hosts 1st Virtual Marketing Career Fair<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_Author\"><\/span><strong><em>About the Author<\/em><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Simon Chou<\/strong>\u00a0is the Vice President of Operations and Growth at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\">BCjobs.ca<\/a>. Over the course of his career, he carved a niche in brand development,\u00a0 marketing strategy, and online presence for startups. Prior to BC Jobs, he served as a marketing advisor for high-profile blockchain projects including Litecoin, NEM, and Ripple. He\u2019s also worked with fortune 500 companies in the healthcare space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Career fairs are events designed to introduce students or potential employees to opportunities within their field of interest. Employers, businesses and organizations set up booths and informational sessions to showcase what they do and the talent they\u2019re looking for. There are multiple styles of career fairs. Some have an emphasis on specific fields or careers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":7312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[150,152,16],"tags":[194,433,436,348,434,317,432,431,435],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7304"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7304"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8029,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7304\/revisions\/8029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}