” The Center for Career Management is holding Career Fair Success Secret Seminars in preparation for the Spring Career Fair, which will be held on Feb. 12. Kim Beyer, Interim Co-Director of the CCM, says the goal of these seminars is to help students get prepared for the upcoming Career Fair.”
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The Center for Career Management is holding Career Fair Success Secret Seminars in preparation for the Spring Career Fair, which will be held on Feb. 12. Kim Beyer, Interim Co-Director of the CCM, says the goal of these seminars is to help students get prepared for the upcoming Career Fair. It is an opportunity for them to learn about what is a career fair, what are the expectations of them as a student or a university alum in going to a Career Fair, and what they should be focusing on before, during, and after the expo.

The next seminar will be held on Mon. Feb. 9 from 4:00-5:00 in Simmons Hall room 301, which is the CCM office. It is open to any student or alum, any major, and anyone who wants to learn how to prepare himself or herself for the Career Fair and how to be successful in marketing themselves to employers. It is helpful for students to sign up in advance by contacting the CCM office over phone or through email, but it is not necessary.

There is a lot of open dialogue. We do a lot of question and answer during the seminar. We might do some role plays with students on shaking hands and answering some interview questions just to get some exposure so that they understand what potentially they could be asked and how they are going to interact with employers at the Career Fair, says Beyer. Beyer believes that this is one of the more popular events that the CCM holds because of the nature of the event that is forthcoming.

Anyone who has never been to a Career Fair realizes it can be both an exciting time but also a frightening time.

Beyer also personally believes that these seminars are helpful because the students who come to them are looking for information on how to be successful.

Beyer explains that when students come to the seminars they are dressed in jeans like a student coming from class, but when they see them at the Career Fair, they are dressed professionally, they have their resumes ready to go, they’ve done their homework prior to the event so when they walk in the door to the ballroom they are refreshed and ready to go. Most employers at the Career Fair say that UA students are very well prepared and polished.

Anything we can do to better a candidate to be prepared and be the best marketable candidate is our goal. So the educational sessions are one way that we do that, and I think it pays off for the candidate at these types of events, says Beyer.

In today’s economy it is taking 4.3 months for a candidate to find the ideal position they are looking for.

When I define ideal I’m talking about a position that is directly related or somewhat related to their academic major, their career goals or career interests, says Beyer. Conducting a successful job search doesn’t happen overnight. Many candidates are spending 30-40 hours per week looking for a job. When we see the economy in the state that it is, it typically takes candidates longer to find opportunities, there are more candidates that are out there competing with one another, and employers are also being choosey in terms of the candidate they want to hire, and the types of positions they have available, says Beyer.

Beyer believes that the Career Fair and Seminars are strategies candidates can use to find opportunities, and when anyone is doing a job search they need to use as many strategies as possible to maximize finding the ideal opportunity for them.

What works for one job seeker in terms of strategy does not work for everyone across the board equally. What we do know is that networking is one of the top strategies candidates can use and should be using in their job search. Going to a Career Fair is an excellent way for that person to begin the networking process, says Beyer.

Beyer advises all seniors and juniors should make their career and job search a priority. It really is beneficial for a candidate to really sit down and do some self assessment about themselves, learn more about themselves, who they are and what they’re all about, what they have to offer an employer as well as learn about the strategies they need to take to find what they’re looking for, says Beyer.

Beyer gives some interesting information about what is happening in the marketplace. Employment opportunities are down 8 percent from last year. Small to medium size companies are hiring more so than larger size companies.

There are jobs in the marketplace, but employers are using different recruitment methods this year then they have in the past. A lot of employers are attending Career Fairs as a way to get in front of students, and a lot of employers are connecting with the faculty in the colleges. If a candidate doesn’t have a good network with the faculty, that could hurt them, explains Beyer.

Beyer also explains that possibly the most important strategy that can benefit a job seeker is the good skills that they can offer, such as top notch oral and written communication skills, top notch team work ability, adaptability, flexibility, time management skills and organizational skills. Beyer’s question for students is this: How will you market your personality, your skill sets and your work ethic to an employer, on top of your education?

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