Tips and Tricks to Career Fair Success
Building your resume
Be sure to update your resume with your collegiate experiences. Highlight your experiences, especially what you did in different roles. Get your resume reviewed by as many people as you can. Several organizations, including AIChE, host resume review sessions that provide feedback on improving your resume. Having several people review your resume allows for different perspectives and insight, as well as being able to pick up common themes of improvements.
To get additional information about building your resume or other career advising, you can book an appointment with the Career and Professional Development Center. Please follow the instructions below:
Log into Handshake using your VT Login information: https://vt.joinhandshake.com/stu
Click the Career Center Tab in the Top Left Corner
Select the “Appointments” Option and then the “Schedule a New Appointment” Option
Select the appropriate appointment option for your case, select a time, fill out the questionnaire, and then request the appointment.
Elevator Pitch
When talking to a potential employer, having some form of a 30 second-1 minute prepared introduction can help catalyze a conversation. Some key components of an elevator pitch include your name, major, some key experiences, and something that you are interested in hearing about from the employer to initiate a conversation. Be sure to practice a few times!
Take advantage of the Career Center’s Services
Virginia Tech’s Career Center has a lot of services available to help prepare you for a career fair, including resume reviews, mock interviews, and assistance on how to search for job opportunities. These are all available to schedule on Handshake and are an excellent resource that many students use on a daily basis! You can access their resources here.
Company Research
Before going to the Career Fair, a great way to demonstrate your interest in a company is doing some research into them ahead of time. Whether it’s the type of opportunities available, some recent products they have developed, or programs that they offer, this indicates to recruiters that you have spent the time to learn more about them and show serious interest in the position.