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• Why attend a job fair?

• How to prepare for a fair

• Presenting yourself effectively at the fair

A job fair is a great opportunity to identify immediate/future job openings and to network. A fair may be geared toward one industry or a variety of industries. You can get details about job fairs through Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE), your faculty or student associations, professional/industry associations, trade magazines and your network. You can also try searching for fairs at community spaces on campus in-person or check out online community resources, such as Eventbrite. 

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The University of Waterloo co-sponsors two job fairs each year called Partnerships for Employment (P4E). Job fairs are held in February and September. Organizations may or may not be actively hiring, they may want to increase awareness about their organizations or may be looking to hire in the near future. Find more information about the P4E job fairs, co-sponsored by the University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College . Only students and alumni with valid ID cards from the four co-sponsoring institutions can attend. 

To get the most from a fair, you will need to be well prepared. Although you want to focus primarily on organizations in your field, this is not the time to limit yourself. Remember that non-technical companies hire technical people and vice versa. However, given the amount of preparation necessary, be realistic about the number of companies you plan to target.

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1. Do a self-assessment to determine your goals and the skills you want to market 

2. Find out which companies and organizations will be represented and research them to figure out if they interest you 

3. Think about how your skills, knowledge and experience can fit with the organization’s needs 

4. Prepare hard copies of your résumé, or résumés if you have several versions, tailored to a variety of career choices 

5.  Establish a way to provide your networking information easily  

   1. Have LinkedIn open on your phone so that you can easily connect with recruiters after meeting them

   2. Create networking cards with your contact information and degree information  

6. Take a notepad to jot down recruiters' contact information. Consider taking supporting documents such as reference letters, your professional portfolio (including examples of your work and accomplishments), copies of your transcript and completed job applications. Think through whether this is an appropriate strategy for your industry; you might have to do some research to find out. 

7. Compose intelligent, well-informed questions that you want to ask employers 

8. Consider practicing handshakes and a 30-45-second self-introduction. Note: More information on handshakes and alternatives can be found in the Exploring Workplace Culture section.  

9. Plan what you will wear; dress as you would for a job interview

Things to consider about job fairs

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Explore workplace culture tips on interacting with employers, such as eye contact and handshakes.

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• Explore more about: Networking