CEE Students,

As we get underway on the career fair and campus recruiting season, I’m
getting a number of inquiries about how to prepare for career fairs and the
job search process.    I have two quick resources as a starting point.

First, the UW Career Center offers a variety of workshops and online
resources to help students and alumni to mount a successful job/internship
search process.  Visit:  http://careers.washington.edu/Calendar.

Second, click below for the NACE (National Association of Colleges and
Employers) blog post on “Career Fair Networking” which provides a quick
overview of the general advice most advisers will give. You may have to scroll down, it was posted on July 21st.

One additional thing I would add is that if you’re not comfortable talking to industry reps or you need time to “warm up” with your introductory speel, approach a table where the company rep is alone and things are slow.  Introduce yourself to that lonely rep (and the lonely rep will be happy to have you to talk to as well) and use that opportunity to practice your speel and to warm up.  You’ll feel more confident later when you approach the companies that you are more invested in.

Finally, if you are looking for a job or internship, it helps to look
presentable.  (I’ve often found that employer reps take notes on initial
impressions on the back of resumes after the student walks away.) While
“looking presentable” might mean different things to different people, at
minimum it might call for a clean shirt or a business casual attire.
Finally, bring plenty of resumes to a career fair.

Best,
Mariko