7 tips to help students shine at career fairs

On-campus career fairs and other recruiting events are an exciting ritual for university students at all levels, from undergrads looking to land their first internships to grad students on the cusp of launching careers. But to help you feel prepared, prevent anxiety from entering the picture and ensure you get the most value from the experience, take a moment to review the following seven tips before your next career fair.

1. It’s a good idea to preregister

Most on-campus career fairs today allow students to “preregister” for the event, which is often also an opportunity for you to submit a resume and create a basic profile. This allows companies that are attending the event to get a read on candidates ahead of time (and perhaps even identify a few who they particularly want to meet). Preregistering doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but it's an easy first step—and since it should tell you which companies are attending, as we’ll discuss in a moment, it can also help you prepare for the event.

2. Find out who's coming and prepare accordingly

Career fairs typically run from three to five hours in length, and to make the best use of the time, you'll need to plan ahead. The good news is that your college or university will likely be able to provide you with a list of participating companies ahead of time, which you should look at carefully. Once you’ve formed some idea of the companies that might interest you, do as much research as you can to gain a more in-depth understanding of each one. Scrutinizing the cultures and missions of these organizations, in particular, may help you identify employers that share your values.

3. Get ready for the meet and greet

Positive first impressions start with solid eye contact, firm handshakes, upright posture and some kind of demonstration of enthusiasm about the company—but keep in mind that you'll likely only have about three to five minutes to spend with each recruiter at a career fair. Use this time to talk a little bit about your interests, major and background, while also learning more about the company.

For example, you might ask questions like:

• What are the primary roles your company is hiring for today?
• What does your company do to support work-life balance?
• How does your company support ongoing learning and development?

Ultimately, of course, the questions you ask should reflect your unique interests and goals.

4. Have your resume (and a few other things) handy

What should you bring to the event itself? There’s no one right answer to that question, but prioritizing following certainly won’t hurt:

• It’s a good idea to have around 20 copies of your resume printed out ahead of time and ready to share (even if you’ve submitted your resume ahead of time through the event website).
• You may also want to bring a notebook and pen with you to jot down notes, names and anything else you learn during the course of the event (taking notes on your phone, while totally acceptable, may feel slightly less professional). 

For more experienced students, like MBAs and Ph.D. candidates, having business cards printed up ahead of time is a strong move, too, and getting them in the hands of recruiters just might increase your likelihood of landing interviews.

5. Dress to impress

Career fairs are like first-round interviews in that it's a good idea to show up dressed slightly more formally than is probably strictly necessary for the position or company you're interested in applying for. This is the best approach if you want to avoid any kind of sartorial anxiety. Your only goal, from a fashion-semiotics standpoint, should be to communicate professionalism.

6. Network, network, network 

While meeting with recruiters from your targeted companies should be your top priority at job fairs, this is also an opportunity for you to network in a broader sense. That is, why limit yourself to the prospective employers in attendance when you can also build relationships and swap notes with your fellow students? Doing so might give you insights into what jobs are open at various companies, what their recruiting strategies are and what skill sets they’re looking to hire, for example. The bottom line is that building a larger network might improve your odds of landing the right opportunity.

7. Don’t forget to follow up

Our own recruiters report that it's surprisingly common for young job seekers to make solid connections at career fairs—and then, for one reason or another, decline or forget to follow up later on. That's too bad, because a timely, carefully crafted follow-up email will help you stand out even more.

Using a simple subject line ("Thank you" is perfectly fine), you might craft an email modeled on the following template:

Hi [name]:

Thank you so much for making time to connect during the recent career fair at [college or university], where we discussed some of the opportunities available at [company]. During our conversation, I was especially excited to hear more about [specialty or role], which made me even more interested in pursuing positions with your company. Could we set up time to talk about next steps?

Please let me know. Thank you again for your time and consideration.

Alternatively, in the event that you swapped business cards with recruiters, you might reach out to them directly via phone or text.

Key takeaways

On-campus career fairs are exciting opportunities for you to learn more about companies, explore your interests, build connections, hone your networking skills, narrow down the pool of prospective employers and help clarify the best next steps for you as you begin to chart your career journey. Just keep the simple tips outlined above in mind, which should help you feel relaxed and prepared going in.

For now, be sure to check out all of the different ways students can join our team at Johnson & Johnson. You might also want to explore all of the jobs we have available and sign up for our global talent community, too. The latter is an easy way to stay in touch and receive updates about jobs that might interest you in the future.