Before a Job Fair
- If you need assistance with developing or updating a resume, first consult the advice and sample resumes available online on the Resume page or the Education Student Resources page. Carefully read the advice and pattern your resume after the samples available online. You are also welcome to attend an individual 30-minute resume critiquing session at the Center for Student Development. Call 778-7034 to schedule an appointment. These 30-minute resume critiquing sessions are intended for students who need someone to review their nearly completed resumes for proper grammar, mechanics, and style as well as effective organization. These sessions are intended for students who have draft resumes that have been updated as much as possible with the details of their work history/student teaching experiences. (Not to put too fine a point on this, but students who have a resume that was completed for admission to UMF years ago and has not been updated since aren’t ready for a 30-minute resume critiquing.)
- If you have done some research on a school/organization prior to the fair and you know a recruiter from the school/organization plans to attend the career fair, you are encouraged to reach out by e-mail to introduce yourself to the recruiter and essentially break the ice before actually meeting at the fair. Contact information for the recruiter or the human resources office is usually listed under the heading of “careers” or “jobs” on an organization’s website. Attach a copy of your resume to the e-mail message and close the message by indicating your interest in meeting at the fair. Once at the fair, your face-to-face introduction will be smoother because of the earlier connection you made. Or, you could plan to complete the application for the job and hand-deliver the materials at the fair. In either case, your time with a recruiter at the career fair could be made more productive if you either reach out ahead of time or complete the application (assuming there is a job opening).
At the Career Fair
- Bring multiple copies of your resume, some with a specific objective tailored to the school/organization where you wish to work and some without an objective. It’s good to have resumes of the latter kind to hand out to schools/organizations that may have registered late and do not appear on the web roster as attending. (If you require an explanation of what a resume objective is, see “What should I write for an objective” on General Resume Advice
- Keep your resumes in a sturdy folder to keep them flat and accessible.
- Offer recruiters copies of your resume after you introduce yourself. See “How to Introduce Yourself at a Job Fair” in the links below.
- A cover letter is not required for the career fair unless you plan to submit your completed application at a career fair.
Related Links:
- General Tips for How to Work a Job Fair
- Conduct Research Before Attending a Job Fair
- How to Introduce Yourself at a Job Fair
- Using Your Resume Before and at a Job Fair
- Tips for Any Job Fair
- Ten Things to Do After You Have Applied for a Job
- UMF Career Fair
- A Job-Search Checklist for Liberal Arts Students
- Local/Part Time Job Search Information
- Student Employment
- Maine Employment Resources
- International Employment Resources
- How to Work a Job Fair