Welcome to the Warm Up Room
Advance Planning for Recruiting Day for Accounting, Finance and Economics
A good impression is not made by chance. Use the tips on this page to deliberately plan and prepare for success.
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Make Sure You Are Prepared
Dress professionally. Review Career Services recommendations on appropriate dress.
Review the list of participating organizations available on the Recruiting Day job candidates home page.
Research the organizations that interest you. Do this research prior to the fair.
Register and upload your résumé with The Wright Search.
Each employer you speak to will want a copy of your résumé. Prepare copies of polished, professional résumés to distribute to every representative with whom you speak, plus one for admission to the fair, and a few extras.
Gather your résumés and a notepad in a professional portfolio. Include a pen to take notes.
Plan to secure briefcases, backpacks, overcoats, or other cumbersome, personal items elsewhere.
If friends or parents ask to accompany you, advise them it would be inappropriate. They can help you by assisting with pre-fair research, proofreading your résumé, and practicing your interview skills.
Prepare a 20 second summary to use when introducing yourself to organization representatives.
Lines may form at booths and can require you to wait for an opportunity to speak with the representative. It is not possible to "run in and drop off" a résumé. Schedule your time and other afternoon obligations to allow full participation.
If you are seeking information only, research your particular field of interest prior to the event, and compose a list of relevant and specific questions. Also research the organizations with whom you plan to speak. Convey a professional image and be prepared when you are informational interviewing.
How to Prepare
In preparing for an employment interview, identify your accomplishments. This will help you respond to questions by giving examples of your skills and abilities.
Participate in a Mock Interview at Career Services to polish your interview presentation and to learn how to avoid negative images when responding to questions.
You are in charge of the information that you share in the interview. What you share is your decision.
Be aware of your non-verbal communication as well as your verbal communication. Pay attention to your posture, your dress, your eye contact, the expression on your face, your handshake. The majority of communication is non-verbal. Be sure your non-verbals make a good impression.
There are some questions you can expect to be asked.
In addition, you may be asked general questions designed to reveal your past behavioral patterns. This is called behavioral interviewing. For tips on behavioral interviewing and some interview questions to answer and ask, refer to the article "How to Behave in a Behavior-Based Interview ". We recommend that you follow the P.A.R. model in responding to interview questions. For more information on P.A.R., review our mock interview information. You can effectively answer behavioral interviewing questions by following a model referred to as P-A-R: Problem - Action - Results. In the PAR model, you first describe the problem or situation; then relate the action you took; and, finally, the results. Specific examples with salient details are best.
At an on-campus recruiting event, organization representatives are generally screening potential candidates. If you have questions based on your advanced research of the company and an opportunity presents itself, do ask questions. Be considerate of others if there is a long line behind you and avoid monopolizing the representative's time. A recruiting fair is not an appropriate venue for asking detailed questions about job duties, salary, benefits, or other items to be negotiated after a job offer.
Leave the interview with a clear sense of the timeline for follow up. If there is a decision being made - for example, you will be contacted to set up an interview - ask when you can expect that step and subsequent steps to occur.
It is not appropriate to ask questions to which you should have already found out the answer, such as: "Tell me about your organization"
Always thank the organization representative and shake hands upon goodbye.
Collect a business card.
Always send a thank you letter to each representative with whom you speak.
Strategies for Working the Fair
Review the updated information available at the student registration table in the lobby of Apollo Room (Multipurpose Room) in the Student Union, on the day of the event. There are sometimes last minute changes (including additional companies) which are only available at the registration table.
Refine your action plan. Prioritize your interest in the organizations and proceed in that order.
As you visit each booth, your confidence and presentation skills will improve. You may be most polished after one or two encounters with organization representatives.
Before entering the room, set aside casual, personal behavior and mentally prepare yourself for a positive, professional interaction.
If you do not get to all the booths on your list before the fair ends, directly contact your other choices later in the week. Career Services will have contact information the next week, in the C R C, in E334 Student Union.
Step-by-Step Presentation Skills
Are you well pressed, buttoned, and suited up? Is your hair well groomed and conservatively styled? Have you removed excess jewelry? Can you smile with confidence? Make a last minute check in a mirror.
Adopt your professional demeanor and enter the fair with a smile.
Circulate by yourself, not in groups or with friends.
Maintain your professionalism while waiting in line. Recruiters note and remember breaches of business decorum.
When it is your turn, offer a firm handshake, and make direct eye contact. It is important to make a good first impression.
Introduce yourself and present your résumé. Use your 20 second, prepared introduction to begin the conversation. Articulate your job search objective.
The organization representative will quickly review your résumé and begin asking you questions about the résumé content or about your specific interests. You will benefit from having conducted pre-fair research on the company and its products or services, because in this conversation you will want to describe how you see yourself fitting in.
As the organization representative asks you questions, don't be surprised or offended if they break eye contact and begin making notes on the back of your résumé - this is normal! Maintain your eye contact and focus on the organization representative; do not let your attention wander. Do not try to read what they are writing. Instead, continue to respond enthusiastically to the questions you are asked. The notes are generated by your responses, and help identify you from among the other candidates.
When the organization representative wants to talk to the next person, they will give you a verbal or non-verbal cue. They may make a closing statement: for example, "Thank you for talking with me today," "I will contact you at a later date," or "I will pass your résumé on to the Human Resources department and someone will get in touch with you." Non-verbal cues may include interacting with the next person in line by turning toward them, smiling directly at them, or nodding in their direction.
Incorporate the "How to Prepare" tips listed previously into your interaction with the organization representative.
Thank the organization representative for their time and consideration. Ask for a business card - you will need the correct spelling of the name, the title, company address, for your formal thank you letter. It is helpful to have a phone number for your reference. Get a business card from everyone you speak to. If they do not have a business card, ask for their name and the correct spelling, and phone number, and write the information down.
Send a formal thank you letter to everyone with whom you spoke. Computer generate or type the letter. A thank you letter is most effective when mailed within 48 hours.
Need more tips? Review information about Job Search Readiness.
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This page was last updated Wednesday, 01-Aug-2007 11:15:04 EDT.
Questions or comments?
Email career_services@wright.edu