How to Win Career Fair Season

Pro Tips from a Hudl Recruiter

It’s that time of year again — school is in session, the leaves are about to change and ‘season’ is just around the corner. Career fair season that is. As more companies see the value interns provide, campus recruiting has become more competitive. Internship listings are posted earlier and earlier every fall, in hopes of finding talented students to fill available roles for the following summer.

Five years ago, I attended my university’s business career fair and met with Hudl reps at their booth. Fast forward to today — I’ve now become the recruiter for Hudl. My team has traveled coast to coast the last four years, meeting with students and building Hudl’s brand awareness across campuses. Our mission is to help college students find an internship that will help them grow both personally and professionally.

Are you looking for an internship to use as a stepping stone in your career aspirations? Just like an athlete spends the lead up to a game in training, students should use the weeks before a career fair to prep for anything and everything that may come their way. Here are a few tips to help you “win” your school’s career fair.

Prepare

Did you have an awesome job or internship last summer? Time to update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Remember to be specific about the role. Just because you were an intern doesn’t mean you didn’t make a difference for the company.

You should include:

• Metrics that show your impact
• The departments you interacted with
• Projects you completed or contributed to

Practice

Before attending a career fair, get your elevator pitch ready. The keys to success? Be brief and unique. Don’t forget to introduce yourself, but most importantly, be ready to sell yourself. Why should a company hire you over the 300+ students they met with already? What qualifications and skills set you apart from your classmates?

Warm Up

Many career services departments post the list of companies attending a career fair in advance. Sure, you’ll know some of the larger companies, but what about the companies you don’t recognize? Check out everyone’s websites, research their internship programs and follow them on social media to learn more about their culture.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to the businesses you’re interested in before the career fair. You could even schedule an informational interview. If that’s not an option, at least prepare a handful of questions to ask each company’s recruiters at the career fair. They’ll know you did your research, which could be the differentiator between you and another candidate.

Press Conference

One thing the media and recruiters have in common is that they both ask a lot of questions. Be prepared to answer these in particulars:

• Have you heard of (insert company name) before?
• What kind of internship are you pursuing?
• What academic or internship project are you most proud of?

Recruiters appreciate questions from students, so be prepared to start a dialogue based on your research. Here are a few questions to get the conversation started.

• What projects are interns responsible for at your company?
• How is your internship program different from those at other companies?
• What qualities or traits do you look for when hiring interns?

Game Time

It’s finally here — the career fair you’ve been waiting for. Worried about what to wear? Some companies will have representatives in suits, but you’ll find our team in Hudl t-shirts. Because you’ll be meeting with a wide array of people, you can’t go wrong with business casual attire. Make sure those dress clothes are ironed and ready to go.

Don’t forget the most important component of your outfit — your smile and a solid handshake. The relationships you develop at this career fair may not only help you obtain an internship, but could lead to full-time employment in the future.

Follow your prepared list of “must visit” booths and add in a few more that pique your interest (10–15 is a good goal). Companies spend a lot of time and money sending recruiters to your campus, so don’t worry about “bothering” their representatives. Make the most of this opportunity to connect, and let your confidence lead you to success. Handing out copies of your polished resumes is a great talking point. Don’t be afraid to ask for business cards or informational pamphlets in return.

Post-Game

So you handed the recruiter from the company of your dreams your resume. Think you’re done? Definitely not. If you received a recruiter’s business card or contact information, you should absolutely send a follow-up email and connect with them on LinkedIn. Recap the conversation you had and mention something you found interesting about the company. Thank them for their time (after all, they met a ton of people that day) and let them know you’ll apply ASAP.

Now head to the company’s career page and submit an online application. This is usually the best way to cement your interest and kickstart the interview process. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t receive an offer. There are a lot of factors that go into a company’s decisions, and some of them are out of your control. Spend the offseason researching the company, and return to their booth the following year.

Free Agent

If you did your prep work, you probably impressed everyone you met throughout the interview process. So the ball is in your court on accepting your internship offer. Remember to look further than your hourly pay. Include the full benefits and perks the company offers their interns in weighing your decision. The work you’ll be doing should align with the career you want to pursue after graduation.

If you receive more than one offer, be sure to look into your school’s offer acceptance timeline policy. Don’t feel rushed to accept an offer, but be mindful of the company’s needs, too.

Join Hudl’s Roster

Interested in working at Hudl? Our team will be attending career fairs at the University of Texas — Austin, the University of Nebraska — Lincoln and Iowa State University. Join us on our career fair journey by following @LifeAtHudl on Twitter. If you’re not a student at one of these schools, check out hudl.com/interns to see all the internship opportunities we have available.