{"320581":{"#nid":"320581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Five Career Fair Tips from the Center for Career Discovery and Development","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith the Career Fair starting Monday, students have two more days to prepare to participate and talk with prospective employers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMichelle Tullier, who recently came to Tech as executive director of the Center for Career Discovery and Development, has worked in both higher education and career coaching. She offers these tips to students about attending the fair.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAttend the Fair\u003C\/strong\u003E. This may seem obvious, but not every student does. \u201cThere\u2019s something for every student of every major and year at the Career Fair,\u201d Tullier said. \u201cIf you get there and talk to someone who is looking for computer science students and you\u0027re a liberal arts major, for example, ask if they have recruiter colleagues you could contact about opportunities in other areas of their business.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPractice\u003C\/strong\u003E. \u201cMost students know to practice for an interview, but not a fair,\u201d said Tullier. She recommends preparing a 20- to 30-second \u201celevator pitch\u201d that briefly captures who you are, what you offer, and what you\u2019re looking for. \u201cEvery interaction with a recruiter is like a mini interview. Practice delivering a smooth elevator pitch, firm handshake, and good eye contact.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETake your time\u003C\/strong\u003E. The two-day fair hosts hundreds of companies, some of which end up with waiting lines during the fair. Tullier recommends that students allot plenty of time to explore the fair and come and go between classes if needed. Patience and flexibility are key.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGet \u2014\u0026nbsp;and stay \u2014\u0026nbsp;organized\u003C\/strong\u003E. Look online at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/career.gatech.edu\/careerfair\u0022\u003Ecareer.gatech.edu\/careerfair\u003C\/a\u003E to see which companies you want to talk with and look up background information on the companies. A new Career Fair app (available on \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.careerfairplus.gt_ga\u0022\u003EGoogle Play\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/gt-career-fair-plus\/id689886688?mt=8\u0022\u003EiTunes store\u003C\/a\u003E) lets students mark favorite companies and map out where those companies are stationed, which can help in laying out a plan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETullier also advises having a plan for how to keep everything organized as you get materials during the fair. \u201cYou can walk out with a lot of business cards and handouts, and it can be overwhelming,\u201d she said. \u201cTake only the information you need, and make notes on the back of business cards or in your phone or tablet to remember key discussion points for when you follow up after the fair.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFollow up\u003C\/strong\u003E. Recruiters often use LinkedIn as a resource for filling positions, and students should be visible and active there. Tullier recommends that students ask to connect on LinkedIn with anyone they connected with in person at the fair. Even if the request isn\u2019t accepted, students will have gotten their names in front of the recruiter one more time. The request should be paired with a follow-up email as well. \u201cYou may make your initial connection face to face at the fair, but you may close the deal because you followed up virtually,\u201d she said.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbove all, Tullier reminds students that the Career Fair is about more than employment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOf course that\u2019s a goal, but it\u2019s also about networking and the professional experience of participating in the fair.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fall Career Fair takes place Sept. 8-9 at the Campus Recreation Center. Students should wear professional business attire and bring their BuzzCard and several copies of their resume.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichelle Tullier, executive director of the Center for Career Discovery and Development, offers a few tips to students about attending the Career Fair.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Michelle Tullier, executive director of the Center for Career Discovery and Development, offers a few tips to students about attending the Career Fair."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-09-03 12:07:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:59","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"321171":{"id":"321171","type":"image","title":"Career Fair","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Career Fair","file":{"fid":"200104","name":"career-fair-rotator-2_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/career-fair-rotator-2_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/career-fair-rotator-2_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":62578,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/career-fair-rotator-2_0_0.jpg?itok=m5yWMcYQ"}},"321101":{"id":"321101","type":"image","title":"Michelle Tullier","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1505488729","gmt_changed":"2017-09-15 15:18:49","alt":"Michelle Tullier","file":{"fid":"227133","name":"michelletullier.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/michelletullier.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/michelletullier.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":57678,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/michelletullier.jpg?itok=ikJ8p9kY"}}},"media_ids":["321171","321101"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/career.gatech.edu\/careerfair","title":"Fall Career Fair"},{"url":"http:\/\/careerdiscovery.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Career Discovery and Development"},{"url":"http:\/\/career.gatech.edu\/pages\/careerfairs.php","title":"Career Fairs"}],"groups":[{"id":"66093","name":"Career Services"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4354","name":"career fair"},{"id":"83481","name":"center for career discovery and development"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:r.south@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ERichard South\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECareer Fair\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}