Navigating External Career Fairs as an MBA student: Receptions

Author: David Guillermo Cascante Mora, Full-Time MBA

In our third issue, we’ll dive into a more serious topic, but one I find very appealing, namely, the networking opportunities at a (national) career fair. 

We can’t start this topic without reviewing the smart suggestions Ezichi shared with us last year, Navigating External Career Fairs as an MBA student: Do's and Don'ts; which I can confirm still are as applicable today as then.  So, I suggest you enjoy that great read before jumping into the following, since the below will assume you did. 

What you see 

A career fair is an exciting event, says the extrovert, since I’ve learned that my more introvert peers find it daunting and hard work, but very useful; hence the better prepared you should be to make the best of it. 

Whether you’re coming down the stairs to find a convention center housing around 300 companies or a hall with 60 companies waiting for you, your pitch and CV, you would be wise to take a minute to take it all in.  You’re about to dive into what ideally will become the start of your coming internship or full-time employment. 

Everywhere you look hundreds of people exactly in your same situation, prioritizing the company lines you want to visit.  Who doesn’t want to talk with the consulting, finance and pharma firms? 

After a while, some hours, of standing up, you’ll inevitably see a lot of people that quit the use of their shoes and are looking for places to rest, while you get the motivation for round two. Get there well rested, fed and review Ezichi's blog article to make the best use of your time and get the best outcome of your visit. 

What you don’t see (...and you should take advantage of) 

Once the agenda was ready and shared you were able to confirm how to structure your visit and when to be ready to start your day.  There was also a very interesting set of events happening just after the daytime career fair and this is what I want to share a little more about and suggest you include these in your plans. 

Receptions might be presented as several different events, sponsored/company meetings, breakfasts or coffee meetings or chats. They give you the ability to have a more casual environment to talk and meet the company representatives without the stress of the lines or having to carry your briefcase, back pack, folder with CV or goodie bag (which hopefully you left to the very end, since you don’t want to appear like you’re collecting merchandise from all the companies).

Ideally, you’re able to learn more of the ins and out of both the company and the job function or department you might be interested in a more relaxed environment, were even the recruiters are more willing to share, since they don’t have the 50 people line behind you. 

Again, this is not a time to sell yourself, but to create connections and learn about the hosting company.  These events normally will have at least 10 companies hosting either their private room or all sharing a bigger hall to just chat.   

I echo Ezichi’s conclusion, “success at career fairs transcends resume distribution; it's about building relationships and leaving a lasting impression on recruiters.”