Job fair networking involves speaking with, getting to know, and extracting contact details from company representatives and recruiters. You need to go through this process because employers want to check that job fair attendants are good fits for the company. Whether or not you mesh with other people in the company is difficult to show on a piece of paper, so you have to pro-actively prove to the representative that you are in fact a good fit. A good place to begin is JobConcierge.com that has an extensive list of job fairs and career fairs online.

Before dropping your resume, you should try to seek out the company's senior managers or hiring managers. Other employees are great, too, but you want the people with influence to remember that you are a great candidate for the job they'll be making the decisions about who to hire at the end of the day.

Additionally, before speaking with the representatives, you should have prepared a short statement (thirty seconds to one minute) about your background, why you would be a good fit, and why you are enthusiastic about working for the company. This statement does not need to be memorized, but you will need to have some outline of what you want to say to the recruiters before you go. You want the representative to know that you aren't just there to drop resumes at every stand, desperately hoping to catch any interview thrown your way. It would be a good idea to find a friend before the fair and practice your response to the question, Can you tell me a little about yourself? Other possible questions may revolve around your potential career plans or past work experience.

By researching companies before heading out to the job fair, you will also be able to show companies how you can help their business going forward. If you know from your research that the company is starting new projects in Japan, you will be able to let them know that you are fluent in Japanese, have worked in Japan before, and can lead projects there by being the first line of management in employing the native workers (but only if these are all true). This is just another way that you can leave a good and lasting impression by researching in advance.

Before you go to your next job fair, don't forget to thoroughly practice, research, and prepare yourself. We recommend you review JobConcierge.com for career advice and more job fair information. This is the best way to make sure you leave a good impression with each representative at the fair. If you're fortunate, your networking preparation (and strong resume) will result in the start of a new career.

JobConcierge offers human powered job search service - Real people search through 300 job sites and submit applications. JobConcierge job search optimization is known for its extensive career fair list

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Do you know how to prepare for your interview?

"What does prepared for an interview look like?"

"How can I make them I hire me?" "What if I'm not REALLY qualified or able to do this job?" "How do I know what they are going to ask?"

Where do you find the answers to these common concerns and questions?

A Tough Job Market

Everyday you are reminded that you are in a tough job market. You know that you will have to do something to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd. You realize that you are competing against the odds.

The question is, "When there are so many other candidates looking at the same job, how can you make yourself stand?

The answer is: "Personal Interview branding"

What is Branding Yourself?

This is what companies do when they want to sell something - they use whatever methods necessary to tell the customers who they are, what they do and how they do it - they "brand" the product.

How can I brand myself? I'm not a product?

This is one of the main secrets of successful preparation. Begin to think of yourself as a product. What this means is you have to discover What Makes You Unique - and to begin thinking of yourself like a product.

Branding is telling the customer (in this case the interviewer) who you are; what you can do and have done in the past (your unique qualities); and why they should buy (hire you). Effective career branding used in the interview is the same as in business.

Call For An Interview

Let's assume that you have an outstanding resume and that you make it to the top of the stack of resumes of people to be called for an interview.

First of all - you are to be congratulated on getting this far.

The problem is that You - and maybe nine or ten other equally qualified people for the position will receive that same call.

Are you the best? You had better be prepared to prove that you are the best by letting the interviewer know what makes you unique and what you can do for them - you you will bring to the position. Because companies have so many candidates to choose from, they are interviewing more people so that they can select the "best."

What makes you a "remember-able" person? When you are lucky enough to be invited to an interview it is essential that you be ready to sell yourself - to let the interviewer know what makes you unique - What added value you can bring to the position?

In other words, why YOU are the best person for the job?

Your goal is to leave behind an impression of you and your "brand."

Preparation

You can determine your uniqueness and determine your personal interview "brand" and where you should focus your attention by doing some basic preparation.

This process is to identify the points you have to offer - the combination that makes you Unique.

This should be a combination of your education, experience and any special training or certifications you may have, as well as your area of expertise, your strengths, and your personal traits.

You create your statement by listing all these qualities and then making them into a concise statement to present to the employer when any of the standard questions come up.

"What makes you unique?" "Tell me about yourself." "What can you bring to this position that the other candidates can or can't?" "What are you strengths?" "Tell me something about you that will make me remember you after you leave the interview."

You can develop the answers to these questions by using "5 points" to use during the interview. If you use your five fingers to keep focused you can jog your memory if you forget what you were going to say due to being nervous.

Point #1

Your education and years of experience. (More experienced persons will talk mainly about experience and not education.

Point #2

Your area of expertise - or what you know a lot about. (For less experienced people you will have to rely on classes or courses you've taken).

Point #3

Your strength - this is usually a trait that you can use in any job. In other words, a general trait. (Communication, Relating to Others, Analytical Problem Solving, Determination, Adaptability).

Point #4

Your work ethic or work style (This is what coworkers would say to describe you).

Point #5

Something interesting about you (A hobby, somewhere that you volunteer to do, a sport or arts interest. If you can think of something that relates to the job you are applying for that would be a plus).

By summarizing what you have to offer in a methodical way you will be less apt to wander or forget what you intended to say.

You can search for online tools to help you create your personal interview brand or you can write out your job winning brand by following the examples above.

Regardless of the method you use - you should be prepared. It will make a difference in the way that you present yourself and in your being able to talk openly - without being modest about what you have to offer. You will be able to tell the interviewer why they should hire YOU - and what makes you unique.

In fact, preparation will help you in ALL your interactions - social, business, and your day-to-day life. The more you know yourself and are will to talk openly about yourself the more comfortable you will be in talking about yourself - to anybody.

Carole Martin is passionate on the subject of interviewing. Her philosophy is that the interview is a two-way process and preparation and practice are keys to a successful interview. As the interview coach for Monster, she reaches out to millions of people with advice & tips on how to succeed in today's job market. Visit her Free Interview Coaching web site to learn about Interview Branding

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For example, a friend of mine told me recently that she doesn't like to "brag" about herself during an interview. She felt that talking about her skills and accomplishments was a bad thing.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? But, how many of us have done this? I plead guilty. Not so any more, but in the past I've been reluctant to "brag" about myself. Think about why you might do this.

By the way, do you think my friend got the job?

We play all kinds of mind games with ourselves before, during, and after the interview. What questions will they ask me. Gosh, did I blow the answer to that one! How did I do? Will they call me? Why aren't they calling me? You can drive yourself crazy thinking like that.

Make no mistake, the interview is where you either get the job or you don't. It can be grueling, intimidating, humiliating, nerve-wracking, and even sometimes enjoyable. And the great thing is, you'll never know what kind of experience you're in for until you get there.

To interview successfully, you've got to have the right mindset and be prepared. The best way to prepare is to know yourself - really know yourself.

The subject of interviews is so vast that thousands of books have been written about it (and possibly thousands of blogs, too, including this one!). An entire industry of coaches, counselors, and lecturers earn a respectable living helping people through this often frightening and confusing jungle. Because of this wealth of information, I'll be discussing various aspects of the interview process in future posts. These will draw upon my own experience (personal and professional) and the experiences of others.

Oh, and if you haven't guessed it yet, my friend did not get the job.

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Having been a partner in a successful landscaping business for many years, she knows she's quite personable and is at ease in her interactions with strangers. She knows how to run a business and is good at many things. But there's one thing she's not very good at, and that's talking about herself.

She feels pretty comfortable during interviews until the moment she has to start talking about herself. Then she stumbles. Why? Because she feels that talking about herself is bragging, and we all know that good people don't brag.

My friend is not the only one who feels this way. A lot of people have trouble talking about themselves in an interview. Heck, they feel uncomfortable listing their skills and accomplishments on their résumés.

I can feel my friend's pain. I used to be hesitant to "promote" myself in interviews thinking that they would be won over by my good looks alone (not!).

But it's not anyone's fault we feel this way. We all do this to a certain extent. That's because we have this belief that we're not supposed to toot our own horn. Doing that makes us self-centered somehow. But there's a difference between taking pride in your accomplishments and who you are as a person, and self-aggrandizement.

One way to overcome this negative thought pattern is to remember why you are being interviewed in the first place. They were interested enough in you to talk to you in person, enough to maybe even bring you in from out of town. This is your chance to show them just how good you are. You don't lie and you don't exaggerate - you tell them the truth about you and why you are the best person for the job. And the only way to do that is to tell them about yourself.

You can also brainstorm a list of all the good things you've done on the job. Repeat them out loud to yourself and maybe to a friend or family member. That way, you'll become more and more accustomed to hearing good things about yourself and it will become a more normal part of your consciousness.

Do this and you'll be on you way to a successful interview.

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