Pre-Step: Find a Job Fair Near You!

If you are still a student, you may be luckier than most others when it comes to finding a local job fair. Most universities host their own! If you are unsure when they are held, email or speak to one of your university career services representatives. If your university doesn’t host job fairs/you are not currently a student, here are some links to help you find some networking events in your city:

• Employment Guide
• Career Builder
• National Career Fairs

You can also find job fairs by city: Here is an example of a Chicago site, which discusses job fairs.

Before You Go

Now that you have found a job/career fair to attend, you should also prepare for the occasion. Don’t go in expecting things and conversation points to just come to you. You’ll probably fare much better if you do your research beforehand! Here are some tips for you to try BEFORE the event.

(1)Research companies you would be interested in working for. The job fair site or flyer will usually give you an idea of employers who plan to attend. Try to find out information about positions they have available! You can usually find this information on their job/career site or their human resources web page. Write down any questions you would like to ask representatives while you are there.

(2)Perfect your resume. Once you know who will be attending the fair, you can cater your resume accordingly. I usually liked to keep a few different resumes handy, based on which skills companies/positions were looking for. For example, if you are applying for an accounting job, you may highlight different attributes than those you would emphasize for an investment banking job.

(3)Suit Up! First impressions can be everything. Don’t look like a slob at a job fair. You should dress AT LEAST business casual, unless the job fair event board specifies otherwise. I’d much rather be overdressed than underdressed, so it may be a better idea to dress business formal!

At the Job Fair and After the Fair

(4)Talk to a representative! Make sure you don’t pick up brochures and leave. Look through the brochures and make sure to discuss opportunities that are currently available!

(5)Make yourself memorable. In addition to getting your own questions answered, you should tell them why you think you’d be a good fit at the company. What have you done in the past that may help? Why are you interested in working for the particular company or organization? You want to make sure the representative remembers you in a good way, that is.

(6)Send a follow-up email! Most human resource representatives/recruiters will probably give you their business cards. Once you apply for the job online, make sure to write to them about it (before/after).  Give them a reminder about how you met at the job fair, and add in why you would like a particular position.

What do you think about these job fair tips?

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at top online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.

Photo Credit:  ben.chaney

How do you prepare for a layoff?

There are some things you can do to prepare in advance of a layoff.  While your layoff may come as a surprise, it doesn’t have to be a financial surprise.  Here are a few ideas:

Evaluate your work situation

As I mentioned, some people know in advance there is a chance they may be laid off.  Watch your work assignments.  Are you losing responsibilities to others in the department?  Do you see evidence your position may not add as much value to the organization because of strategic changes?  Do you have a good relationship with your boss and do you communicate regularly?  These are all questions to ask yourself and depending on your answers; it may be time to start dusting off the resume.

Start searching and networking

Update your resume and begin networking.  Touch base with recruiters and people who have remained in your professional network.  You can let people know you’re considering a move and that you would be interested in discussing opportunities with their company.  Also update your online social network such as Linkedin.  There’s a lot of recruiting taking place in the online world these days.

Save money

This one goes without saying because you definitely need that emergency fund established for such times as a layoff.  If you don’t have cash savings, the important thing is to start saving at least 5% of your take home pay in a high yield savings account.  How much do you need?  It depends on your risk tolerance, but most people these days are saying anywhere from 9-12 months of expenses.

What do you do if you’re laid off?

This past weekend, the Dallas Morning News provided three simple tips for surviving a lay0ff.  They say you can survive and I think they’re right!  I did it! 

There are always ways to successfully survive a layoff.  Much of that success will be rooted in devising a financial plan that can carry you through the difficult times and keep your head above water until those difficult times rebound to happier days.

Tighten your Budget

You have to be ready to prioritize bills and expenses.  I would say this is true in any financial crisis.  Some bills or expenses have to be at the top of the list like food, shelter and electricity.  Other bills, like cable TV need to be cut.  Especially, if you don’t have a deep emergency savings account.  The bottom line is your budget has to go into survival mode!

Eat in and cut out entertainment

Don’t even think about going out to eat and spending money at the movies.  People love to eat out.  It’s something people get used to doing every weekend and even during the week.  Look for such spending habits and cut them off immediately.  Your needs to be the top priority.  Not your wants.

Ask for help

Probably the best tip or advice that stood out to me is ask for help.  Most people have been in a layoff situation before and can provide advice.  Personally, my layoff was a journey of faith.  I didn’t want to look back afterwards and see that I was a stressed out wreck.  Rather, I tried to be calm and trust God.  This made things easier on my family too.

Friends, family and even counselors can help.  You can seek the assistance of a Money Map Coach to help you answer tough questions with your finances and budget cutting that aren’t so easy to answer yourself.  There are alot of emtions in such times and having the support around you can help bring logical thinking into the situation.

Have you ever been laid off?  What did you do to survive?

It reminds me of a few years ago when I was laid off, but in a much better economic situation.  I was bless to find a job again almost a month from the day I was laid off.  Even though it might seem the job fell into my lap, I worked extremely hard over the course of that month to network and find potential opportunities.

Some might think a job opportunity will come to them based on experience and skills.  This is the wrong approach.  To find a new job, you have to be a self – starter, aggressive and motivated to persevere.

This post is about some of the things I did during my lay-off to find a job, but also some things I might consider doing today, if it were to happen again.  I know that in just two years time, the world is much different.  Not just because of the economy, but there are new opportunties available today and the mode in which people network is different because of advances in technology.

Steps to find a job

Begin work the day after you’re laid off

My work was finding a job and I did it nearly full-time.  Mainly because I was concerned about using up our resources and fear that bigger changes would have to occur should I not find a job.

Get in the right statement of mind

Sure, it’s easy to panic and let your mind go a million different negative directions.  I chose to use my faith in God to focus.  I knew my family would be taken care of no matter how bad things got because of my faith.

Do the basics

I got my resume updated immediately.  I didn’t procrastinate on this very important task.  I had it ready to go the day after I was laid off and had it sent off to a friend and professional mentor for review.  This is not something I could not see myself delaying.  The resume is really where it begins in terms of submitting for a job, or the second step after having made a new contact.

Job board sites

I created a profile and submitted my resume to the big job board sites such as Monster and Career Builder.  Some say this isn’t worth it because of the numbers, but I disagree.  Websites like Monster, may have a lot of submissions for one job, but such websites are also great ways to see what is on the market and which companies are hiring.

Network like crazy

LindedIn became my best buddy.  It served as a great tool to rekindle past work relationships.  I spent time updating my profile and reconnecting with people who I had worked with in the past.  These online connections turned into lunches and eventually resume opportunities to submit my resume.

Establish recruiter contacts

I followed up with professional recruiters I had worked with in the past and new recruiters through my networking.  I met with them and interviewed with them.  They submitted my resume to open opportunities.

Follow up regularly

I always asked when I could expect to hear back after speaking to somone about an opportunity.  If I hadn’t heard anything, I didn’t wait.  I called and followed up.  This is great for working with recruiters, business associates, or after interviews.

Get the word out

Beyond rekindling past business relationships and working with recruiters, I got the word out to my friends.  Some of these friends were in my field of work, but many were not.  My wife helped network too.  It’s amazing how many friends and neighbors know someone who knows someone.

Steps to find a job today

All of the above still stands today.  However, there are a few things I would do to add to the list.

Expand your network using Facebook and Twitter

Both of these social networking tools, can also be great for doing what Linkedin did for me.  Facebook and Twitter have grown to be more than friend networks.  There is opportunity to connect through groups of like minded people on Facebook and there is also opportunity to follow people on Twitter based on different interests.

Identify professional organizations in your area and go to their meet ups.

If your profession is technology, it would be important to insert yourself into those networking opportunities and bring value, based on your experience, to the discussions.

Reapply

If you’re working for a large company, there may be other opportunities within should you be in good standing.  Stay connected with your previous boss and ask if you can follow up with he or she and HR about these potential opportunities.  Rehiring a past employee in good standing is a no brainer for companies.

I would ask my previous boss to circulate my resume.

Again, if you’re in good standing, your boss has a network too and is someone who can speak about your most recent experience and accomplishments.  I would ask my boss to consider my background while working for them and share with anyone in their network who may have a potential interest.

Volunteer your time

Yes, that’s right.  I might consider working for free.  If I found a company I was really interested in, I might ask if I could volunteer my skills in order for the opportunity to meet people and learn more about the organization.  I’m not suggesting doing this on a full-time basis, but a day every two weeks might be worth considering and of mutual benefit.

Help others

A job search is a job.  If you do it right, it takes a lot of work.  If you’re good at something outside of work, a hobby, or other gift, channel that to something good to keep yourself in positive spirits.   There are always needs at local churches for those who want to serve.  By the way, volunteering also provides opportunties for networking.

Final thoughts

Today, I am employed and grateful for my job as well as the opportunity to work each day.   How did I find my job?  You might have guessed, it was through intense networking.  There is power in connecting and the more you do it, the more powerful it becomes.  Technology, accelerates the process, but in the end, hard work and perseverance is the fuel behind it all.

Are there any additional steps you would you take to find a job today?

Note:  While social networking tools are a great tools to leverage, let them be what they are meant to be, tools.   Be diligent about your schedule and time management.  Spending all day on social networking sites can also hinder your job search productivity.