Career or job fairs are a great opportunity for you to network and get yourself noticed by potential employers. On the other hand, employers attend job fairs to get themselves in front of a high-volume of candidates and to win facetime with top talent.

Job fairs are different from traditional interviews in that you have less time to set yourself apart from the crowd and score that additional opportunity to advance in the interview process. During the event, employers look at how you interact with other candidates and employers, and will especially judge your preparedness. Fortunately, we have some top tips to help you show up ready to give you the best chance of being a candidate that employers want to pursue. 

Register And Research

The first and arguably most important step is to register for the career fair before their deadline. During the registration process, you’ll usually have the opportunity to sign up for any alerts about the event, which you should do to stay in the know. 

Once you’re registered, take a look at the employers that will be attending and get to know a little bit more about them. You’ll want to understand their culture, their place in the industry, as well as what potential openings they have so you can speak to those when you meet with them. Doing this ahead of time will save the employers the hassle of teaching you things you should already know. 

Consider Your Goals

Before attending, consider what three to five employers or positions you’re hoping to hit, and make a plan of attack to get to those three to five at the beginning of the job fair. Most career fairs offer a vendor map leading up to the event, so you can use that to scope out the best path to get to your highest priorities. 

Additionally, getting to the event early will help ensure you get to meet with as many of your goal companies as possible. Once you’ve stopped at those booths, you can use your extra time to network with other employers and visit your lower-priority opportunities. 

Update Your Resume/Online Presence

Before you go to the job fair, tailor copies of your resume to each of your goal positions/employers. This will help you stand out while they’re filtering through the dozens of resumes they receive. Be sure to also bring copies of your regular resume in case you network with an employer outside of your list. Lastly, be sure your profiles on LinkedIn and other social networks are up-to-date and are scrubbed of anything nefarious. 

Appearance And Etiquette

You can increase your likelihood of scoring an interview by looking the part: prioritize your hygiene and opt to dress in business casual attire rather than jeans and a t-shirt. Shake the hands of people you meet, use direct eye contact and do your best to remember names. 

Success comes from both hard and soft skills, so the way you look and communicate with others is just as important as your previous experience and other work-related skills. 

Prepare A Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short sales pitch designed to highlight your best attributes as quickly and directly as possible. You’ll use this to introduce yourself to the employers, all while preparing to answer questions such as “tell us about yourself,” “what are your goals,” “what are your strengths and weaknesses.” When answering, keep your responses to 60 seconds or less. Using your research about the company, illustrate why you and your skills would be a good cultural and technical fit for their open position(s). 

Follow Up

If you’re moving forward in the interview process, be sure to firm up these details before leaving the job fair. Following up the next day or week with a phone call and/or a handwritten thank you note will go a long way in keeping you top-of-mind with a healthcare employer/recruiter. Use this as an opportunity to show off your courteousness while thanking them for their time and consideration. 

About Townsen Memorial

At Townsen Memorial, our family of hospitals are equipped with the latest in medical technology and specialists.We strive to provide the best patient experience across all Townsen Memorial affiliated sites. Our standard of high-quality care starts at our Emergency Room and carries on through our Imaging Centers, Surgery Centers, and through our Hospital. Our medical sites are located in Houston, TX and the surrounding areas, to provide the best care to patients in and around Harris County. To learn more, visit our website or call 1-877-494-9487. 

Hiring In Healthcare.

We hope that the “Hiring in healthcare 6 tips to success” was helpful. Check out our careers page! We’re always looking for great individuals. So please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.