Has anyone been to a careers fair? Loads of questions...

[DianaPrinceRocks]

I am starting to look for work after a short break and I'm going to my first ever career fair next week.

It's at the University where I'm doing a postgrad, but it's mostly aimed at Undergrads looking for their first role. However there are a lot of local companies going to be there that I would love to work for.

I have no idea what to expect though. I'm going to bring loads of copies of my most-generic CV and I have a linkedIn profile so I'll probably ask if the company reps are taking connections.

But other than that, does anyone know who's likely to be there from the companies? Is it likely to be HR people?

And when I speak to them, will it be like a mini-interview or more casual? Should I wear a suit or go in my student-y attire?

Apart from asking what roles/skills they're likely to be hiring for, are there any other intelligent questions I should ask?

Part of me wants to not.go.and.hide.instead because I'm afraid I'll make an eejit of myself and blow my chances. But apparently fortune favours the brave. Argh.

Anyway sorry for all the questions but I'd really appreciate any wisdom .

Hello, we're moving this thread over to our Chat topic and giving it a bump. Hopefully some Mumsnetters will be along shortly with some advice.

Best of luck.

Anyone?

I am a Graduate Recruiter so attend a lot of Fairs.

Usually on the stand it will be a mixture of HR and business representatives.

I have never accepted a CV. The first reason being that we only ever accept applications online and two these days it is too much of a risk with GDPR.

I would also suggest not requesting LinkedIn connections at this stage. That is for further along the application process or if you attend a networking event and they give you their card.

I would suggest being smart but a suit is not necessary.

I would research the companies going in advance and work out those that you wish to talk to. Don't just rush up to every table and grab the freebies and go.

Ask the the business people about their role and any qualifications and what they like about the firm. Ask HR about the application process and timelines etc.

Hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.

You should expect ageism. I did my degree in my 30s, and went to several graduate recruitment fairs. They all had several schemes being promoted where you had to be under 25 to be eligible. Most graduate recruiters want 21-22 year olds with no experience who'll work for free or minimum wage. They have no idea what to do with mature graduates, career changers, people with responsibilities etc. Total waste of time in my experience.

Also, even though you say they're local companies, you should double-check that the job will actually be in your home town, I case they're a larger company with several offices. I went to one in London and had a good ten minute chat with this guy, it was sounding quite promising actually, and then he suddenly mentioned I'd have to relocate to Leeds

Not applicable to you op but to anyone reading this thread
I was very underimpressed with the recent skillshare at Newcastle arena where I took my 16 year old grandson who had already started 6 th form on the road to becoming a chemical engineer.

I was expecting it to be employers looking to recruit new talent in the 16-25 age group
It was not at all like that

It was mainly FE colleges, universities, the army and the navy looking for new recruits
To the few employers who did attend, like Northumbrian water we had a more enlightening conversation about what they are looking for in a young employee

Other than that it was a huge waste of time.
Holding it in mid September when most young people have chosen their secondary education seemed daft anyway.

The only jobs fairs worth going to are ones where they're trying to recruit high volumes of low-paid staff, e.g. call centre staff, catering staff for events, etc. I went to one once where they were practically hiring people on the spot. But that type of jobs fair doesn't work for graduate jobs or more highly paid/skilled careers.

Definitely bring your CV though! Many of these fairs have stalls where you can get free CV advice.

Thanks so much @JoMumsnet!

And thanks everyone for all the advice and insight. It's really helpful in terms of the prep I need to do.

In a way this has made it less scary because my expectations won't be that high .

Even if I can get a feel for roles/skills they are hiring for it might help.

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not updating on this before now, but wanted to post how it went in case anyone else has the same question.

So firstly it was absolutely packed. There was a queue of about 200 students when I arrived but it moved quite quickly. The second big surprise was that many of the companies had sent juniors/interns to represent them. I will confess I had a bit of reverse ageism going on, because I didn't bother with a lot of the companies on that basis. I can understand why they would do it for a student fair but I just didn't trust them to have the information I needed for my situation.

I went to the companies I was least interested in first, which was good as I was nervous and it took me a few goes to make my introduction really smooth. A few companies took my CV and a few gave me their names for LinkedIn (and they've accepted connections since). A lot of companies were taking online registration - so just filling in a form on a tablet with my email address and they've emailed since with a more detailed online form.

I did meet some really good people and got useful information on the types of companies I could target/monitor. A few people looked at my CV and gave me feedback.

I haven't done much follow up because a role has actually come up (not from the fair) that's looking promising. But it was a great experience and I actually think it got me used to preparing for interviews.

Thanks again for all the advice beforehand .