Student groups may sponsor trips to these fairs or bring company representatives to campus. The most accessible fairs, however, are those which take place on-campus and are run by a school's career center. The fact that the career center organizes the event can be of great help to students who are new to the phenomenon of career fairs. Michelle Watson, assistant director of career services at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., notes that walking into your first career fair can be intimidating. It's surprising that students don't really know that if they go to a career fair and they haven't prepared for it, it can be quite overwhelming.
Preparation is the key to taking full advantage of a career fair.
You need to invest some time and effort to find out as much as you can about the fair itself and who's going to be there. The career center is often the place to start if you want to find out which companies will be represented. Chances are that those are going to be everyone else's top choices too, so they're the ones you want to go to first. The potential for lines at an employer's table varies, but you'll make the best impression if you're well informed and able to ask intelligent questions. She recommends visiting your career center to see if there is any company literature available, and visiting company Web sites, which can be a great resource for information on things like benefits, qualifications and company philosophies.