Tips and Tricks to Get the Most Out of Career Fairs 

Tips for Job-Seekers to Get the Most Out of Career Fairs 

Career Fairs and Forums give you a chance to explore organizations and career fields through 

conversations with representatives that include recruiters. They are great ways to meet with 

employers in an informal setting and learn more about the variety of job and internship 

opportunities offered by companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations where 

you might like to work. 

• Before the fair, view the list of companies and representatives. Some fairs and forums are 

focused on recruiting specific majors, while others are interested in all majors. Develop a list of 

those you feel are a good match and ones you would like to speak with. 

• Research the representatives/employers. Visit their websites, and search for any relevant 

articles, current events, etc. See where they are located. 

• Look for internship/job postings on their company website and develop questions for the 

positions of interest. 

• Develop and practice your elevator pitch to confidently introduce yourself to recruiters. 

Reflect on and be prepared to talk about your: academic background, career interests, past 

employment experience, and skills and strengths. A good pitch should answer three questions: 

Who are you? What do you do? What are interested in? Ask a question at the end to keep the 

conversation going and to highlight that you have researched the company. Examples of 

introductions/elevator pitches: 

• Hi. I am Richard Jones and I’m a junior here at XYZ University majoring in Electrical Engineering 

with a minor in Computer Engineering. I’ve interned with ABC company for two summers where 

I programmed in both Python and Java. I also enjoy working with hardware, and any 

opportunities where I can combine the two. What types of internship opportunities are 

available at your organization during the summer? 
• Hello, Ms. Santos, my name is Jenna Hill and I am a sophomore at XYZ University planning to 

major in Information Systems with a specialization in cybersecurity. I am doing research with 

Professor Doe and I am looking for an internship in the field of data analytics that will allow me 

to gain more professional skills and hands-on experience for my future career. Can you tell me 

about your internship program and the type of projects that students typically get involved in? 

• Prepare questions to help you decide whether this is an ideal role or employer for you. If you 

spend a little time getting some background on an organization, then you can ask very focused 

and specific questions. This impresses representatives because it shows initiative and a genuine 

interest in them. Some potential questions to ask at a career or internship fair include: 

• What types of skills and experience are you are seeking for this role? 

• What type of training is available for entry-level staff? 

• What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into this field? 

• What is the hiring process like at your organization? 

• Are there immediate openings in your organization? 

• What jobs do you anticipate will open? 

• What are the typical entry-level opportunities? 

• What do you like most about your organization? 

• What skills are most important for a position in this field? 

• Considering my particular career interest, are there additional people in the organization I 

should contact? 

• Can you describe the typical career path in your organization? 

• Do you have rotation programs? 

• Print and bring many copies of your resume to submit to employers. They will take notes on 

your resume and may scan it for distribution to hiring managers.

• Dress appropriately. First impressions are important. While campus attire is acceptable for 

students attending campus career fairs, you will probably appear more professional if you at 

least dress in "business casual." 

• Business Casual is more relaxed and comfortable that formal attire but demonstrating good 

judgment in choices and displaying a neat appearance (e.g., polo shirt, shirt with a collar or 

sweater, khakis or other slacks, dress or casual leather shoes for men and women; moderate 

length dress or skirt for women) reflects well on your potential as an employee. 

• Allow yourself adequate time. Come as early as possible to allow yourself enough time to get 

to all your companies of interest. 

• Get your bearings. When you arrive, take a few minutes to review the map and directory for 

the fair. You may feel more comfortable if you quickly locate and visit employers in whom you 

are most interested first. This will confirm their location and alert you to any crowds or lines of 

other students waiting. Don’t wait until the end – you may get tired or they may already have 

all the resumes they want! 

• Prioritize the employers you are most interested in. If your schedule allows, you may find it 

easiest to start with the employers in which you're less interested. This will allow you to hone 
your approach and to be most confident when you approach the employers you're especially 

excited about. Be sure to balance this tip with the reality that you may run out of time and that 

many other attendees may be interested in the same employers. Assume that you will need to 

wait to speak with some employers. 

• Be flexible. The fair directory provides a brief summary of employers' opportunities and may 

not have been submitted by the same people who come to the fair. Some positions may no 

longer be available and other openings may have just emerged. No single employer 

representative is knowledgeable about all positions available, especially in a large organization. 

Some representatives attending fairs are there to share their experiences working at the 

organization and may not be involved in the hiring process. If the employer rep at the fair does 

not know specifically about jobs/internships of interest to you, ask for the name of someone 

who can help you. 

• Introduce yourself and be prepared to give your "career pitch." Extend your hand, say "hello" 

and state your name. Have your resume ready to give to the employer. Be ready to talk about 

your career interests as well as academic and extracurricular experiences to show your skills 

and strengths. 

• Take notes when you inquire about next steps and the possibility of talking with additional 

managers. The representative at the fair may not be able to answer all of your questions or 

know specifics about your job interests. Write down the names, telephone numbers, etc. of 

other staff in the organization whom you can contact later. Note specific employer information 

sessions, on-campus interviewing and projected hiring dates that will affect you. You will not be 

able to take advantage of this information if you don't record it. 

• Ask the representative for his/her card, and then promptly send a thank-you note. Having the 

business card of the representative you have just spoken with serves three purposes. First, you 

have a direct contact with the organization, including the proper spelling of the representative's 

name, direct telephone line, etc. Second, a brief thank-you note acknowledges the help they 

gave you and the time they took to visit campus. Third, sending thank-you notes is a good 

professional habit. Find a sample thank-you email at the end of this document. 

• Respect employers' materials/sample items. Some employers bring large quantities of print 

materials or "giveaways" clearly intended for students to take. Other employers bring a few 

copies of print materials, sample products, etc. as displays at their tables. Always check with 

employers before taking materials from their tables and don't take materials still packed in 

boxes. Some employers come to multiple days of fairs and plan to have enough materials for all 

days. 

Tips for Employers to Get the Most Out of Career Fairs 

Career fairs are a great way to gain visibility. Whether you use career fairs as a preliminary 

prerecruitment activity or as your primary sourcing tool, with proper planning career fairs can 

provide a great format for your organization to begin building personal relationships and spread 

the word about your organization’s needs.
The National Association of Colleges and Universities (NACE) Center for Career Development

and Talent Acquisition recommends several best practices to use in your career fair planning. 

These include: 

1. Making the most of your time. Schedule other recruitment activities around the career fair. 

Host a cybersecurity briefing, workshop, or faculty roundtable or dinner. Visit one or more 

local campus career services offices to discuss student trends and preferences and provide 

updates about your organization and industry. Serve as a classroom speaker or speak to a 

student organization. 

2. Knowing your audience. Discuss with the host organization or campus the attendee 

audience. Is the audience open to all? If it is being held on campus, is it open to graduate 

students? Alumni? And/or undergraduates? Is the career fair associated with one school or 

organization, and if so, which one? For example, if the event will be held on campus at a 

four- year university within the School of Business undergraduate program, some students 

will be interested in summer internships and part-time work. If held on campus and 

associated with the schools of engineering and computer science, and open to current 

junior and seniors or recent graduates, a larger crowd will be interested in full-time 

employment. Customizing the approach to each campus or event location could set your 

organization apart from your competitors. 

3. Picking the right people. It is important to keep in mind that the behavior of career fair reps 

is as important as their knowledge about the company and career opportunities. Make sure 

that everyone who staffs the booth clearly understands that students extrapolate about 

your company culture from such cues as the friendliness and enthusiasm of your 

representatives. When selecting your team, identify those who have a passion for what they 

do and an interest in building relationships with students. Understand that you can't train 

an individual to be warm, personable, or interested. Also, be sure to have your 

organization’s diverse range of culture, age, and gender reflected in the recruiters at your 

booth. 

4. Preparing for the fair. Career fair teams should be assembled and oriented at least several 

weeks prior to the event. This gives team members time to prepare—not just by ingesting 

the information you give them about skill sets to look for, numbers, logistics, and more, but 

also if they want to coordinate plans to contact students ahead of time or set up additional 

side meeting or activities. Make sure recruiters and employees assisting at career fairs know 

which positions are available, which skills and qualifications the company seeks in 

candidates, and the company's hiring goals. Having specific positions to share creates 

deeper dialogue between candidates and recruiters. Make sure those helping understand 

the set-up and break-down process, have directions, know the start and end time, have the 

materials (tablecloth, pull-up banners, materials, giveaways), have the event coordinator’s 

contact information, and understand how to ship back materials (if needed). 
5. Focusing on meeting attendees needs. Too often, the emphasis on employer marketing and 

branding supersedes communicating with attendees about positions and company culture. 

Career fair attendees often leave the event without gathering much meaningful 

information. Because the primary reason that people attend career fairs is to learn about 

job opportunities, employers should focus their efforts on meeting those needs. Recruiters 

should be professional throughout the event. This means there should be no cell phone 

calls by your recruiters while at the booth, and no redirecting students to your 

organization’s website for information or to submit a resume. Get students’ contact 

information so that you can continue the dialogue. Don’t just recruit them, but ask their 

opinions, offer relevant advice, and carry the organizational brand. 

6. Making a break from the typical. Re-think every aspect of your approach: your booth, your 

message, and your participants. Make your organization memorable during the career fair. 

Offer a five-minute massage to students who are obviously stressed out by the job-search 

process or offer a $15 gift card for any student who comes to your booth wearing your 

company's logo. Instead of offering giveaways, ask students to write down their favorite 

charity and conduct a drawing at regular intervals throughout the fair and announce the 

winning charity. Then send a donation to their charity in their name and, of course, send 

them an acknowledgement. 

7. Preparing a follow-up. Determine the best follow-up process (who is doing what and when) 

before the career fair. Then, while the impression is still fresh, categorize your candidates 

into groups as the career fair ends: best matches, possible matches, and no matches (or 

some form of this grouping). Although every candidate should be viewed as a potential 

customer or future client, differentiate your follow up according to the groupings. During 

the career fair, your recruiters should schedule interviews with the candidates they see as 

potential matches for open positions and meet with them the same day or next, if possible. 

Send a “thank you” e-mail to everyone else that stopped by your booth and left their 

resumes. You’ve got a great opportunity to reinforce a first impression.

Sample “Thank You” email message after a career fair visit 

Date 

Mr/Ms XXXXXXX 

Location Name Career Fair Representative 

Company Name 

City, State 

Dear Mr. or Ms. XXXX, 
Thank you for your time and consideration in speaking with me at the XXXXXXX Career Fair on 

(date). I learned a great deal about (company and the applicable program/position), and I am 

very interested in applying for this opportunity with your company. 

We had discussed my background in _____ and my _____, _______, ________ skills obtained in 

my ___________internship, that are relevant to this position. I was especially impressed during 

our conversation by the fact that (add something that you learned in the conversation). I 

strongly believe that being a part of the (program, or team or department) would allow me to 

begin a very successful career in (field) for (company name). 

I submitted my resume for your consideration at the Career Fair, and I also attach another copy 

for your reference. I look forward to the opportunity to speak with you or another member of 

your team again about this position in the near future. Please feel free to contact me by phone 

at XXX XXX XXXX or email me at XXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Sincerely, 

Name