The Morning Blend: Job Fair Expectations

Over the next few days, I will be speaking at several events. Two of the most important ones will take place next week and are being hosted by JobsDirectUSA,  the 2nd Annual Northeast Florida Career Expo (see: www.jaxcareerexpo.jobsdirectusa.com) in Jacksonville, FL and the Florida Classic Career Expo and Diversity Job Fair (see: www.floridaclassic.jobsdirectusa.com) in Orlando, FL.

If you are close to either one of these areas and you are looking for help in finding a job, getting a better job, learning something new, or making great contacts for the future, I encourage you to make time to attend!

Just showing up at a job fair or expo is not going to help if you don’t have the right game plan, mindset, and proper expectations. With these two major job events on the horizon, today’s Blend is on how to get the most out of your job fair experiences!

First of all, please understand that the likelihood of you walking into a job fair and walking out with a new job is very, very remote. I have attended several of these events in my career, worked a booth at many others, and have given presentations at dozens more – I have seen it happen one time, and that was for an insurance company looking for door knockers, don’t count on it happening for you!

So if you aren’t going to walk out with a job, what should your “Expo Expectations” be?

1- Keep An Open Mind – When attending any job fair the first thing you do is keep your eyes and ears open for not only good jobs, but growth companies, energetic recruiters, and interesting opportunities – regardless or not if fits your preconceived notion of the job you are after. I always encourage job seekers to interview the company as much as they are interviewing you. As long as the field is of general interest to you, if you can find a great environment, with positive reinforcement and growth potential, you may bump into the perfect spot for your skill set to flourish!

2- Don’t Schmooze, Make Connections! You may have read a blog I did a few weeks ago called “Networking vs. Schmoozing” which talked about the common mistake of just swapping business cards at a networking function and believing that you have really made connections. The same philosophy applies in the expo arena – don’t try to see every single booth or business in the room. If possible, find out in advance which companies are going to be there, research them fully on LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, etc, and come armed with a game plan to have meaningful conversations with 5-10 of them. In this case, the “less is more” philosophy is right on – spend more quality time with less companies and you’ll have much deeper connections to follow up on after the event.

3- Use the Resources! Most great events (like the two coming up next week!) will offer much more to the job seeker than just a series of booths with hiring managers or recruiters. There will be breakout sessions, practical job search advice, panel discussions, motivational speakers (like me!), and more. Get a list of the events going on during the day and schedule your time wisely to visit the companies you want to get in front of and to learn something new from the experts on site. I have seen many folks leave an expo dejected because they didn’t feel like they got anything out of it. If you just show up and wing it, glad hand every business or recruiter in the room, and leave, you are doing yourself a real injustice. Take full advantage of the information that is presented and make connections with the presenters – like me, they are VERY connected and can often help you find the right person to meet that will take your job search to an a whole new level!

4- Practice Your Skills! Finally, if you get nothing else done at the expo, make sure that you get in some great practice in delivering your “personal branding/elevator speech”, in interviewing, and in learning to network effectively. These are the skills that will ultimately get you the job you are searching to find!

If I can help you get the most out of an upcoming job fair or expo, don’t hesitate to ask. I hope to see you soon either in Jacksonville or Orlando!

Sincerely,

Brad Raney

brad@improveyourvowels.com

Brad Raney is a motivational speaker, life coach, author and sales trainer. He has over 25 years of experience in sales and sales management within the broadcast industry. Brad developed the VOWELS program in 2009 and the success it brought his sales team has spurred keynote speeches, workshops, seminars, a website, and his first book “Improve Your VOWELS, Improve Your Career!” which was released in July 2010. Click here to order “Improve Your Vowels, Improve Your Career! The A, E, I, O, U’s of Finding Your Perfect Job!” — Available Now!

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