Talking (at the job fair)

I equate presentation at the Job Fair as the single most important aspect of the process of getting a job. Walking up to a recruiter and handing them your resume and then standing around idly is no better than emailing your resume directly to the recruiter with the subject "Please hire me" and no body text. If the recruiter is a current employee, manager, or director, what you show them is that you're passive and probably not really inspired. It shows them that if you were to work on a team or work under them, you will never take initiative; it shows them that you'll only be providing manpower and not much more.

Chat with your recruiter. He or she is also a person. They do more than just recruit college kids to their companies. They do more than just look at resumes all day. In many cases, they are recruiting directly to the department they work for. In all cases, they have lives outside of work. Show them you're a person too. Show them you are fun to be around. No one likes to work with boring people.

Don't talk about what's on your resume. Your recruiter can read. Don't state the obvious. Also, your resume is what makes you just like everyone else in the room with the same credentials.

Be different. I don't like to tell recruiters how I have a competitive advantage over my peers, I like to tell them how I have an attribute that puts me in a completely superior market. Figure out what makes you different from your peers and show it to your recruiter.

Don't lie. It's easy to lie or exaggerate your accomplishments. Don't lie if your recruiter asks you a question and you don't know the answer. It's ok if you don't know everything because you are only a student and they don't expect you to know everything. It's ok if your peers can answer some questions that you can't because you are different from your peers.

Be confident. It's easy to be confident if you truly believe in everything you say. Confidence is key. If you say anything with enough conviction, people will believe you. If there is doubt in your voice, recruiters can tell.

How do you tell if you're successful? If your recruiters legit writes on your resume then that's a good sign. If they're writing a list of random organizations you've been a part of, that's usually not a good sign. The ultimate test is when you leave. If they have business cards and hand you free swag instead, they've basically given you a consolation prize telling you "A for effort, but better luck next time."

Take this mindset and create your own delivery.

EB