Appropriate Behavior for College Job Fairs and on-campus interviews!

Part 7

Appropriate Behavior for College Job Fairs and on-campus interviews!

I’m deviating from the natural progression of this self-help blog based on a recent conversation I had with someone who works as a company HR representative to college fairs and on-campus recruitment interviews.

He mentioned to me how horrified he was about the lack of training on college campuses to help students really know how to navigate the interview process and really importantly, appropriate behavior from during these interviews or fair encounters.  Some of the students came across as cocky, belligerent, entitled and completely not knowledgeable how who they were talking to and the company the person represented.

Since this is such an important point and really goes to the heart of any interaction for a job,  I thought I should write about it now.

What I’m about to say applies to college students who are going to fairs or applying to interview with individual companies who are visiting their campus. It also applies to recent college grads that are going out on first interview and/or attending fairs.

1.       Do not go on an on-campus interview if you:

A. Have no interest in the company (for example, working at Apple is not appealing to you because you hate their products and the way they dominate the marketplace)

B. Do not have the qualification to work at that company (if Apple only hires MBAs or engineers and I am not either and do not intend on becoming either, don’t waste people’s time).

C. Know that the types of positions that this company hires for would not be something you’d like to do (I don’t want to work at Apple because they don’t have any creative marketing positions).

D. Is not in a geographic area that you’d move to (I’d never move to Cupertino, CA).

2.      Know all the above because you’ve already researched the company before you decided to pursue. You’ve looked at their website and open positions—and looked at what is currently in the news regarding the company.

3.      The same thing goes for job fairs—know what companies will be attending and then research who you’d like to talk to based on the above criteria.

4.      Treat these fairs and interviews as if you’d actually like to work for these companies, meaning take do everything possible to try to “get the job.”

5.      That means dress appropriately (Business casual is always a safe bet—I’ll write about this is future posts but look it up if you don’t understand).

6.      That means be prepared with resumes and any other appropriate samples (writers bring writing samples; artist art; etc).

7.      Treat each encounter as a job interview—you are there to impress. Let the company take the lead in the interview. You should have questions prepared and the interviewer will most likely give you time to ask them. Most of the company reps are internal HR people and they are looking to fill entry level or management trainee positions. Some will be there to recruit for specific things such as engineers.

8.     Never, ever take the position of  “what can you do for me” or “what do you have.” They are there to sell their company; you are there to sell yourself.  If you are so valuable that a bidding war will happen, good for you. But handle yourself with maturity and appropriate behavior. The days of the entitled are over. Finding a job is tough stuff—personality and attitude do matter. If getting the position falls between two people who are almost equal in qualifications, the person who is liked will get the job (frankly, even if qualifications fall closer to 60/40 and the 40% person is much better liked, they will get the job).

9.      Follow up.  Get business cards and e-contact info for the people you’ve met. Send a thank your for time note, re-send your resume, and let them know why they should hire you. If you’ve not had all your questions answered, ask them now.

Coming up with some additional questions to show that you’ve thought about the company should also help.

10.   If you have already created a Linked In network, see if you know anyone at that company. If you do, evaluate if you think they can help you. What I mean by that is: is this someone you know directly? Can you contact them and ask them to put in a good word? If it is a secondary contact, can you ask your contact to do that for you? See if there is any in-direct link to the company person that you can use. If someone already works in the company sends a “this kid is great” note, the HR will take note. You have been approved and validated in their mind. HR is also judged by the type of person brought in and if someone can vouch for you, they will be more likely to choose  you over someone else.