With summer coming to an end and a fresh year of school ahead, career fair season is almost upon us!
Throughout the fall, recruiters travel the country promoting their employment brand to students and university alumni. It's important for all university students'from freshmen to seniors'to attend career fairs to practice networking skills. Although as a new university student, you may be years away from actually looking for full-time work, it's a great chance to perfect networking skills, make contacts, get a firm grip on the job market, and potentially even land an internship or summer job.
While most people know to dress sharply, have a firm handshake, and bring their resum├®, most students struggle with what to actually say to recruiters and what questions to ask. Networking is generally uncomfortable at first for most people, which is why a career fair is a great place to practice!
Before you go to the career fair, do your research and map out what companies you're interested in and what they actually do; (most career fairs post what companies are attending online). Nothing makes you look more unprepared than walking up to a booth and telling the recruiter you want to work there and having no idea what they actually do. Recruitment fairs are certainly an opportunity to ask questions but they should also be taken as an opportunity to have a quick pre-interview with the organization.

The pre-interview guide
The introduction
Introduce yourself with a firm handshake, a friendly smile, and a sentence or two on your major and year of enrolment in university. Then give the recruiter a one-liner on what the company does to show that you've done your research. The introduction should be brief and to the point.
The elevator pitch
The concept of the elevator pitch is that you have 60 seconds in an elevator to pitch your idea to an executive. At a career fair, you have one minute (or less) to explain how your skills would be a fit for the company or, even better, how you could solve a problem they have if you've really done your research. This pitch should be exciting and demonstrate your passion for their company and what they do!
The closer
To finish, you should create a call-to-action or an opportunity to follow up. This really depends on what stage of your university career you're in. If you are graduating or are alumni, ask how to submit a resum├®, (in-person or online). If you're in the midst of your university career, inquire about the process for internships, cooperative programs, or summer jobs. If you are just collecting information for future use, just be up-front about that and tell them when you're closer to graduation, you'll be in touch. In any situation, always request a business card with contact information.
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