by Chad Pinkston, Chief Sales Officer, The Corporate Playbook

As the oppressive summer heat rolls out and the crisp fall air rolls in, we can look forward to Job Fair season (only slightly less popular than it’s fall rival, college football). We have attended and hosted hundreds of Job Fairs and during this process, we’ve surveyed countless HR directors and hiring managers only to discover employers find Job Fairs almost as big a waste of time as your average participant.

Think about your own experience at a Job Fair. If it was even remotely like ours, you would have been better off just randomly submitting your resume to companies on Monster, while playing Nintendo Wii. Most Job Fairs are set up to be absolute cattle calls, “just stop in, see who’s there” no focus, no direction, just companies and free stuff to entice you in the door. The fundamental flaw with the Job Fair approach is the focus on numbers not connections or engagement. Now, we do understand that without numbers, the participating companies are not going to be interested and if companies aren’t interested then potential candidates will in turn not show. So, you end up with this eastern philosophy “Yin & Yang” so to speak; if one side is out of balance, the whole thing implodes. So how do you turn a Job Fair into a Career Fair making it mutually beneficial for both the candidates and the employers?

We thought we would share some of the key training topics we use with our athletes both through our online network and campus visit training modules to prepare them for an upcoming career fair, we hope this helps the next event you attend:

* As Abraham Lincoln said, ” If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe”. That’s right, a sharp axe is the first step (We’re speaking metaphorically here unless of course you are applying for a lumberjack position then please take Abe’s quote literally). You need planning & direction to make this work. The worst thing you can do is stroll through casually & unprepared. Most career fairs will be posted online, days if not weeks in advance. These postings will detail which companies will be in attendance and their booth locations. Map out which companies you want to visit first, research those company’s websites and read the position descriptions. Hit those companies first.

* “Act As If”- If you have ever seen the movie “Boiler Room” you probably remember the sales manager’s (Ben Affleck) monologue. He began each point with “Act as if”- Well the same is true here “Act as if you are going to an interview not a Career Fair. This means all aspects: Dress, attitude, presentation & practice.

* Dress- Yes, were going to suggest you dress for the position you want. At this point, you’re probably thinking, “yeah I’ve heard that a hundred times” well; that’s because it works. If you want to differentiate yourself from the casual participant, wear a suit. You will come across focused & mature. You are going to be meeting more than just the companies you identified and you will make a much stronger first impression.

* Attitude- you can have the greatest resume, or on the contrary, a mediocre resume and your attitude will be the tiebreaker. If you come across unenthusiastic, smug or just plain apathetic you won’t get a second look. So, put on a happy face, have a positive attitude. Look the recruiters in their eyes & smile.

* Presentation- have you ever been to one of those swanky- reservations, 3 months in advance, unpronounceable name type restaurants? Only to discover you could have paid 95% less at Taco Bell & received 95% more food. Why do you do this? Presentation! It’s the dress, the attitude and the presentation that draws you in. So when you go to your next career fair, focus on the presentation. Dress for the part, have the positive contagious attitude, walk tall with confidence and own the room!

* Practice- just like preparing for the game. It doesn’t change. Use the same methodology you would in athletics. Practice a personal elevator pitch (more on that next week) for when you meet with the recruiters, practice a mock question & answer session about your industries of interest(guys practice tying a tie, I know that sounds dumb- but waiting until the last minute to prepare & showing up with a jacked up Windsor knot is even dumber). I’ll reiterate- Treat this just like a game situation, you are in essence preparing for the next game.

That’s it; everything comes down to preparation & practice. Follow this simple formula & you will make your next career fair a success.

For more information about upcoming career fairs & additional career planning resources visit www.TheCorporatePlaybook.com