Making the most of the Careers Fair:The Key to Success

Agenda

• The Purpose of a Careers Fair?• Preparation for Fair• What to Expect• On the Day• Questions and Answers

The Purpose of A Fair

• One stop shop for students and employers• An opportunity to review different career areas• Students get up-to-date company information • Student and potential employers meet face-to-face• An opportunity to ask potential employers questions

about recruitment• Company gets student’s C.V. or contact details

Preparing for the Fair

• More competitive than previous years– from 108 to 83

• Review Companies attending fair – Careers by Degrees 2009-10– Careers website for updated list (Events)

• Make list of companies of interest• Include some of the less obvious ones• Compile list of questions for company • 50% of companies are for Any Discipline

Preparing for the Fair (2)• Update your CV and bring multiple copies• Customise CV if applying for different types of jobs• Highlight significant experience• Plan your strategy – order of priority• Think about how you will introduce yourself• Bring pen and paper to take notes• Bring your copy of Careers by Degrees• Remember 1st impressions count!!!!

Sectors represented

• Financial Services• Accounting• Insurance• Legal• Chemical/Pharmaceutical• Healthcare• Food & Drink• Retail• Marketing• SMEs

• Aeronautical• Manufacturing Eng.• Electronics• Software• Energy• Volunteering• Consulting• Education• International Opps

Finance, Law & Insurance

• Citibank• Northern Trust• State Street Bank• Central Bank• Quinn Insurance• Sun Life Financial• Zurich (Eagle Star)

• Maples & Calder• Matheson Ormsby

Prentice• Arthur Cox• Friary Law

Accounting

• BDO• Deloitte• Ernst & Young• Grant Thornton• Horwath Bastow

Charlton• Keogh Somers

• KPMG• Mazars• ODCL• PWC• Russell Brennan Keane

Consulting, ICT, Aero, Eng.

• Accenture• Analog• Dell• Ericsson• Hewlett Packard• Intel• Salesforce• SAP

• Airbus• Pilot Training Course• ESB• Bord Gais• Kentz• Mercury• Jebsen People Solutions

PharmaChem/Biomedical

• Abbott• Boston Scientific• Creganna• Johnson & Johnson

• Medtronic• Novartis• Stryker• Zimmer

Retail, Marketing, Food & other

• Fusion• FAS• IBEC/EOP• Irish Distillers• Kerry Group• Glanbia

• Aldi• LIDL• Enterprise Rent-a-car• Paypal• Defence Forces

International Opportunities

• Airbus• Washington Ireland

Programme• EIL• Interac• Jebsen (Norway)

• Sabis Schools• IBEC (EOP programme)• Irish Distillers• I-to-I Ireland• JET Programme• USIT

Teaching & Volunteering

• Sabis (UAE)• Interac (Japan)• JET (Japan)• i-to-I (25 countries)• MPS (UK)• Synarbor (UK)• U Teach Recruitment

UK• Train2Teach (UK)

• Camphill Communities• EIL – Volunteer Abroad• Habitat for Humanity• ISPCC• Special Olympics• Viatores Christi• Volunteer Limerick• Voluntary Service

Overseas

Professional Bodies

• ACCA• CIMA• ICPA• ICAI• Irish Taxation Inst• Engineers Ireland• Institute of Building

What To Expect

• Stands, Stands, Stands,• High noise levels• Companies with lots of opportunities– Representatives promoting the companies– New graduate recruits– Products, videos, demos

• Competition from other students & graduates• Chatting with Company personnel, remember this

can be like a pre-interview!!!! Be alert!!!!

On The Day

• Dress smart – wear comfortable shoes• Positive Attitude• Be enthuastic and knowledgeable• Arrive early while employers are fresh• Make a list of stands you want to visit• Check the numbers & locations of stands• Plan your route around the fair based on the

companies you selected• Check at Careers Stand if in doubt

On The Day contd…

• Keep an open mind about companies• Practise your technique by approaching a few less-

popular companies until you feel more confident• Explain why you are interested in their company-talk

about what you learned during your research• Know what kind of job interests you• Check application and interview details• Don’t monopolise employers’ time• Don’t expect them to be familiar with your course –

tell them about it

On The Day contd…

• Asking vague questions and being unclear about your career interests will not impress

• Their questions;– What interests you in our company?– What type of position are you interested in?– What department are you interested in?

• Have your own questions ready • Take notes and ask for name or business card• Be selective about material, freebies and handouts• Make note of companies who have your CV

Typical Questions to ask

• What degree disciplines do you recruit?• Have you recruited many UL graduates?• What is the typical career path of graduates?• What kind of training/development opportunities do

you offer?• What’s the format of your recruitment?– CVs, Applications, Online applications– Aptitude tests, Assessment Centres

• What qualities do you look for in graduates?

Finally

• Think outside the box – big isn’t better• Check out the ‘any discipline’ employers• Call to the Coop & Careers stand for– Queries and information

• Bring copy of Careers by Degrees for notes• Provide feedback by completing survey• Pre-register online and save valuable time

Q & A