Iowa State is currently in the midst of the spring career fair season. With FIVE different career fairs for any and all students to attend, proper preparation is necessary to be successful during this time of year.

All students are invited and urged to attend each career fair, even if it may not directly pertain to the student’s college or major.

“We certainly welcome all students at the university to attend any of the career fairs. It’s thinking outside the box because employers, a lot of the time, are looking at a particular skill set versus the actual major itself sometimes,” said Loni Pringnitz, director of career services for the College of Human Sciences.

Tammy Stegman, career coordinator with business career services, also demonstrated how going to a fair outside of one’s major can help a student stand out.

“If I go as a business student to the engineering career fair, I’m going to stick out in a really positive way, because they’re going to see engineer, engineer, engineer, and then all of a sudden [the recruiter would hear], ‘I’m a business student’,” Stegman said.

Most companies need someone in business, public relations or another field, said Stegman.

Students are encouraged to prepare in advance for career fairs. A resource available to use in their preparation is university career services, which has an office for each college.

“We have workshops on prepping for the career fair. We also do individual advising for students that want to get that extra edge,” said Roger Bentley, manager for engineering career services.

One common piece of advice students will receive is to dress professionally, whether one has lofty goals for the fair, or is perhaps just going for the first time.

Another core piece of advice is the mastery of perfecting one’s resume.

“In terms of the time of year that it is right now, come in as soon as possible. Make sure someone in career services has reviewed your resume and that you feel good about that resume,” Stegman said.

Once their resumes are ready to go, students should make sure to have several copies carried in “a professional-looking folder. It can be real leather, fake leather, not a Hello Kitty folder — something that looks professional,” Stegman said.

Also contained in that folder should be adequate research and notes on every company a student expects to meet with.

Information on all companies that will be in attendance at the fairs is available online via the Career Management System. Career Management System holds information on which companies will be present, what positions companies are looking for, basic background information on companies, etc.

Although this information is easily accessible, a common critique voiced by recruiters is that students do not always perform adequate research ahead of time.

“Companies would have liked you to research them more. Their biggest thing is that they do want you to be proactive, they do get excited and enthusiastic if you know things about them,” Bentley said.

Tiffany Atilano, career services and alumni coordinator for the College of Design, was also in accordance.

“The more that you can know in advance about somebody you’re going to speak to, the better impression you’re going to make. Really doing your homework and knowing about who you’re speaking to will really show you put some time into it and have a sincere interest in their firm,” Atilano said.

After a student has met with a recruiter, it should be known that the process is not over. Companies will conduct interviews in a period shortly after the career fair, oftentimes even on the next day, to fill available positions.

To heighten one’s chances of landing a coveted interview, proper procedure during and after meeting with employers is crucial.

“Take a notepad and when you’re done talking with a company, you can jot down what you discussed,” Stegman said.

Students are also advised to collect business cards along the way and add notes to the back of them.

These habits will assist in proving to employers one’s sincerity and interest in the interaction held between student and recruiter, as well is in the desired job.

Lastly, a final way to leave a positive impression in the minds of recruiters is to follow up by contacting who you spoke with, as well as expressing gratitude.

The best way to do this is to “follow up with an email and thank them for the conversation,” Stegman said.