I'll be attending a career fair next month as a recruiter for my company. I've been to tons of career fairs as a student before but this will be the first time going as a recruiter. Since the school holding the career fair is primarily an engineering school and I work for a pretty well known and sought after company, I'm expecting a lot of students showing up at our booth. Does anyone who has worked as a recruiter at a career fair have any tips/advice/stories to share?

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 3:24 PM. Reason : recruiter's]

9/11/2008 3:21:17 PM

Stand at the table. Talk about your company while the student's eyes glaze over. Place student's resume in trash pile. Direct them to they company's website.

9/11/2008 3:26:35 PM

biggest thing I can say, and being with a gov company you prob dont have much input on this, it is MUCH more effective for your company if students do not have to sign up online for their resume to reach people. it feels extremely impersonal. Sure it is a good idea for them to utilize the company's website as well, but that shouldnt be the only means, otherwise theyll end up feeling like a number and wonder why you were at the career fair to begin with.

On another note, I am going to the eng career fair at state too this year as a recruiter

9/11/2008 3:30:56 PM

details about company/positions ?

9/11/2008 3:44:25 PM

Quote :

"Stand at the table. Talk about your company while the student's eyes glaze over. Place student's resume in trash pile. Direct them to they company's website."

lol

9/11/2008 3:49:18 PM

^^NASA. I don't have much input as to how to handle applicants. We are mostly looking for interns and co-ops at this one and we are actively taking resumes and noting candidates for those positions. For those looking for full time positions, we have been instructed to do the whole "post your resume online". I know it sucks but I actually got hired by doing that so I guess it works.

9/11/2008 4:42:55 PM

oh yea it definitely still works, there isnt anything really wrong with it, its just that in surveys its been noted that it was pretty common for students to get kind of turned off slightly to company's that did that as they didnt seem as personally interested.

9/11/2008 4:53:53 PM

Be prepared to deal with people who expect to be given a job without doing any work. I've done a couple and I was amazed at how unprepared some people were. I think with NASA people will have a good idea of what you guys do, but I've had people approach me that couldn't even pronounce my company's name, let alone tell me anything about it.

9/11/2008 5:13:26 PM

Quote :

"Stand at the table. Talk about your company while the student's eyes glaze over. Place student's resume in trash pile. Direct them to they company's website."

winner

Quote :

"I've had people approach me that couldn't even pronounce my company's name, let alone tell me anything about it."

I... I thought that's what you were there for?

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 5:16 PM. Reason : maybe i don't get career fairs]

9/11/2008 5:14:30 PM

i guess i should be more specific....people approached me looking for a job that couldnt even pronounce my company's name. im fine with people trying to learn about the company and spreading our name, but if you are serious about getting a job, it doesn't take long to get the list of companies and do some research about them so you atleast know what industry they are in before you approach them.

9/11/2008 5:21:36 PM

Quote :

"I think with NASA people will have a good idea of what you guys do "

Haha actually, most people are just like "you guys build spaceships, right?" The majority of people don't really know the different programs we have going. But I'm definitely gonna give preference to people that know more about us.

9/11/2008 5:27:41 PM

Quote :

"I've had people approach me that couldn't even pronounce my company's name, let alone tell me anything about it."

Was it Schlumberger?

9/11/2008 5:38:18 PM

Quote :

"it is MUCH more effective for your company if students do not have to sign up online for their resume to reach people. it feels extremely impersonal"

this is very true but with employees numbering in the 100k mark, big corporations dont have have to keep track of every resume that is submitted

i have gone to career fairs to recruit and i was pretty disappointed with the majority of student who show up. the students who show up in suits with prepared resumes (even if you cant accept them and they have to apply online, you still look at them) and know how to shake a hand stand out

9/11/2008 5:39:25 PM

^^ Northrop Grumman...

having done career fairs... Be prepared to have resume's shoved in your face... and then the joy of trying to decipher resume's and all that is on them in all kinds of different formats...

If your familiar with the positions being hired for, and especially if you will be working directly with them, then be on the look out for people you wouldn't mind going to lunch with that seem to be eager learners and genuinely interested in what you are doing... not just "the most qualified" on paper... if you can score both then you'll just be really lucky...

also candidates should be able to answer a basic-medium question for ANYTHING on their resume... so for ones your familiar with you can talk about the general topics and find out if their resume holds water... also people should be able to REALLY talk about the experiences on their resume's not just "I worked there, it was alright"

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 5:46 PM. Reason : Wolfy came before I finished...]

9/11/2008 5:45:09 PM

critique the resumes they hand you. highlight spelling errors, formatting problems, etc and then hand them back to the students.

9/11/2008 5:55:56 PM

lol

9/11/2008 6:43:30 PM

um, if there are spelling errors on a resume that person should only be applying for a chefs understudy in the lucrative fast food service industry...

formatting is entirely subjective... it's just a choice between easily and quickly understandable. Mildly understandable, and indecipherable...

9/11/2008 6:45:41 PM

I'll be there too as a recruiter for the first time. I'll let the older guy going with me show me how.

9/12/2008 1:03:50 PM

Quote :

"Stand at the table. Talk about your company while the student's eyes glaze over. Place student's resume in trash pile. Direct them to they company's website."

9/13/2008 10:13:54 AM

Quote :

"resume's"

I hate misplaced apostrophes

Anyway, be prepared for a lot of really stupid people. It can be quite shocking sometimes.

9/13/2008 10:24:48 AM

OH Free stuff...

as a recruiter walk around and trade your free stuff for other peoples free stuff...

It's a lot easier as a recruiter to land some really sweet freebies b/c you don't have to worry about being rude when you go up to a company just for their free stuff...

9/13/2008 11:55:08 AM

SWAG BAG

9/13/2008 2:35:36 PM

since you are with NASA just compare your line size to companies that don't have the US Citizen Only sign and EE/CPE jobs. And I would guess be ready to turn away a lot of non US citizens that don't see that sign.

and give me free stuff...

9/13/2008 5:42:15 PM

FYI folks this career fair isn't gonna be at NCSU, else I would hand out all sorts of NASA freebies to my fellow TWW compatriots. I'm trying to convince the HR department to do more recruiting at NCSU in the future though. If any of you guys are interested in co-ops or internships at NASA (they do offer internships outside of just the summer), send me a PM and I'll hook you up with some info... now is the time to start applying for said positions.

9/13/2008 6:11:09 PM

^sucks when NCSU is like the 6th in importance for recruiters in NC.

[Edited on September 13, 2008 at 9:52 PM. Reason : w]

9/13/2008 9:51:40 PM

^depends on the industry.

9/13/2008 10:53:55 PM

For those of you who haven't realized this yet, I hate to break it to you:

Cow College isn't really high up on NASA's radar.

I mean NCSU's engineering college is essentially a factory. They stamp out thousands of units of a relatively undifferentiated product each year.

they might get a couple from NCSU here and there. but if they want to make it worth their time and hit the good fishing spots they'll go to places like Cal Tech, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford -- and hell I hate to admit it -- even Duke.

9/14/2008 12:50:32 AM

theres nothing to have to "hate to admit" there. in my experience most of the non "elite" schools are like that. Look at grads from Vtech, Gtech, Clemson, NC State, Purdue etc. I work with all of them and more and none are more qualified than others and we all agree with what you just said.

9/14/2008 1:04:56 AM

i only "hate to admit it" because all those Jersey fags at Duke just annoy the piss out of me.

i swear, i even see grown men out here on the west coast -- every so often -- wearing a Duke shirt, and i swear they're STILL douchebags even at age 35 or 40.

i dont get that asshole-vibe from any other "top tier" school... eh, but maybe it's just my bias.

9/14/2008 2:17:09 AM

ahhh i gotcha. yea that annoys me too.

I guess all I was saying was that I agree about NC States eng school but most eng schools are just a factory. maybe some of the top programs are more personal but I just meant NC State isnt really that much different than anyone else ive talked to from various engineering schools. its unfortunate but true

9/14/2008 2:44:57 AM

Quote :

"I mean NCSU's engineering college is essentially a factory."

I realized this the minute I walked into my first E101 class

9/14/2008 3:17:07 PM

Quote :

"Cow College isn't really high up on NASA's radar."

Not entirely true. I'm not entirely sure about the other engineering programs at NCSU, but when I tell people around here that I got my BS in aerospace engineering from NCSU, a few times they'll remark "Oh you guys usually do pretty good at the AIAA conferences, right?" or "I've heard that program has a pretty intensive senior design program", both of which are entirely true.

A lot of it is dependent on where the NASA center is located. I'm located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL so a lot of the recruiting is done from the surrounding schools and engineering programs. There are a lot of people here who have engineering degrees from places like Auburn or the University of Alabama or just surrounding places that we from NC haven't heard of, and although I'm sure they are fine engineering establishments, from what I have heard their (at least aerospace) engineering programs aren't as tough as ours.

[Edited on September 14, 2008 at 4:15 PM. Reason : ]

9/14/2008 4:14:46 PM

Quote :

"I mean NCSU's engineering college is essentially a factory. They stamp out thousands of units of a relatively undifferentiated product each year. they might get a couple from NCSU here and there. but if they want to make it worth their time and hit the good fishing spots they'll go to places like Cal Tech, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford -- and hell I hate to admit it -- even Duke."

ill take it a step furthur and say that even cal tech, MIT, etc are all factories as well for undergrad engineering degrees. let's face it, theres not a whole lot of variance when teaching the basics of engineering. you either understand the principles or you don't. undergrad work is more about understanding how to tackle and solve problems...not cutting edge technology work or exploration. I work with people from ivy league schools, state schools, and private schools, and we were all pretty much on the same level when we started. grad school is what really sets school apart from one another, imo.

...and recruiting is more then just going after the top talent...it's getting the top talent to accept your job offer. If every company spent their time going after the top tier schools (or what is perceived as the top tier schools), then the recruiting price per student would be too high and the job acceptance rates would be too low. our company realizes that we can obtain the same undergrad talent from a place like ncsu or psu or vtech so we focus our efforts there...the ROI is much higher.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 11:03 AM. Reason : d]

9/16/2008 11:02:42 AM

no, MIT et. al. are not factories. their undergrads are far above second-tier undergrads (NCSU, Clemson, etc.) coming out with a BSEE.

i've worked with (and for) them. it was a humbling experience.




[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : ]

9/16/2008 11:35:54 AM

Having Worked at MIT with MIT undergrads... they are not normal... they are not "factory produced"... and they are a cut above.

They have a 50/50 ratio there b/c the best from the entire world apply and there are enough uber smart chicks to properly choose from.

Their projects are designed to make them THINK and come up with something entirely new and they are empowered to do so. also they have the month of January off to compete in various technical competitions, it is an INCREDIBLY competitive environment.

The downside to this is a significant portion of the undergrads are cocky ass bastards who won't listen to a well founded argument based on experience and an actual understanding of the material... But this is only a portion and I know several awesome ugrads from there that aren't like this. MIT at the grad level is comprised of people from schools all over...

It comes down to a combination of a natural aptitude and a love of what you do that makes a great engineer. I love what I do, so I work ridiculously hard to be one of the top people in it. I regularly encounter people that are naturally smarter than me. However it's the people that are smarter AND passionate that really excel. You will tend to see a higher concentration of those people at prestigious universities.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 12:10 PM. Reason : Id = ((W*u0cox)/2L)*(vgs-vt)^2 pays my rent, not grammar...]

9/16/2008 12:02:52 PM

you're right...I shouldnt have commented on schools (MIT) in which I haven't been involved with their grads. I have worked with grads from Duke, Brown, Carnegie Melon, Rensselaer, and Cornell and feel that my education has been on par with what they have received (both curriculum-wise and experience-wise). I realize this is purely anecdoctal but I've formed my opinion from talking with them about their school experiences and working with them on various projects.

Quote :

"However it's the people that are smarter AND passionate that really excel. You will tend to see a higher concentration of those people at prestigious universities."

I do agree with this...but their are still plenty of those types at other schools. It is at a lower concentration however. I don't think that directly correlates with the education offered, however.

9/16/2008 12:34:08 PM

Hey Wraith,

I'll be at the NCSU career fair representing...ahh...my company. My wife will also be there representing her company too. I was thinking about how ironic it is that just one year ago I was passing out resumes, and now I'll be throwing them in the trash (that's what they did with mine).

I'm not sure if I have the courage to tell them I sit in a boring ass cubicle, trying to find work to do, staring at my grey walls thinking that I should have become an airline pilot or rodeo clown.

9/16/2008 7:30:18 PM

^Joshua! We must talk. It has been too many moons since we last spoke!

9/16/2008 8:13:25 PM

^^ Whoa now, don't be so down in the dumps about the cubicle. Although... Is this a full or half height cubicle? Near a window at all? I would be much less happy if I couldn't stand up, stretch, and see some sunlight and piss off my neighbors by talking to them.

Sooner or later I'm going to end up at one of these career fairs as a recruiter... I love this advice though:

Quote :

"Stand at the table. Talk about your company while the student's eyes glaze over. Place student's resume in trash pile. Direct them to the company's website."

I suppose the best advice I have is to be engaging. I spoke with somebody from a company that works with wastewater/stormwater and he made it seem like the most boring thing known to jesus. It kind of turned me away from it until I got involved with doing some of it myself at my current company, and it is now something I wouldn't mind learning more about.

Also, make sure that, if you have a sign up for a specialty, that your company actually works in that area. There was a large firm at the last career fair with a sign up listing all their company specialties, and I figured that meant they'd entertain the idea of hiring somebody like me in the future after I got a graduate degree. I mean, the sign was like "our company does work in these areas *lists* and has over *x* years experience completing multidisciplinary projects for our clients". I asked if they were hiring in that area and they said "oh, yeah no we have two people that do that in our headquarters in *state that's not NC that's far away* and we don't hire for that specialty or do much of any work in that area... but... have some free stuff!".

I was kinda pissed. I mean, it was humorous, and they gave me a nice pen, but it was awkward as hell for the recruiter and for me once we realized that I wasn't interested in them and they weren't interested in me, haha.

Oh yeah, work on your introduction too. Have a basic introductory spiel for when somebody walks up and make sure you ask them a couple questions while explaining what your company does and such. The companies with recruiters who were like "um, hey, yeah, what's your major... ok... yeah we hire people that do that, here's some of the stuff our company does" came off as less impressive than companies that had "trained" recruiters that started off with a hello and reading off your specialty from your name tag and then rolling into some questions and some history for their company and explaining the interview process. Plus, being relaxed and friendly with the folks that show up (and engaging them with a few questions) will make it way easier for them to open up and talk to you about their experience/interests/sex life. Good for when you've got nervous undergrads who are about to pee their pants because they don't know what to do when looking for an internship.

9/16/2008 8:50:59 PM

So... any of you guys have something open for a ChemE?

9/16/2008 9:59:30 PM

not factory ones

9/16/2008 10:17:58 PM

^^^I appreciate the advice and all but I don't think that I'll need to really go into detail about what my company does... we are the only one to ever put someone on the moon so if they don't know who we are, then odds are they aren't gonna get hired

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 11:31 PM. Reason : ]

9/16/2008 11:31:04 PM

Grumman?

[Edited on September 17, 2008 at 1:08 AM. Reason : .]

9/17/2008 1:08:18 AM

Any of you guys have something open for a candidate with a BS in chemistry?

9/17/2008 1:21:45 PM

Quote :

"So... any of you guys have something open for a ChemE?"

we prob do. Our process engineers are 90% Chem-E's. but I am in SC.

9/17/2008 1:39:00 PM

Quote :

"OH Free stuff... as a recruiter walk around and trade your free stuff for other peoples free stuff... It's a lot easier as a recruiter to land some really sweet freebies b/c you don't have to worry about being rude when you go up to a company just for their free stuff..."

as a recruiter myself as career fairs, i find this just as, if not more annoying than the idiots who show up in flip flops and greasy hair

i always hated it when other companies would try to come over and try to "trade freebies" especially when we actually had candidates at the booth. totally unprofessional. besides, we gave away decks of cards... who gives a shit. you really want to trade me a 3 in 1 highlighter for a deck of cards?? lame

and the comment about NASA not being interested in cow college.. i had a friend at ncsu who interned with NASA and she wasn't even an engineer

9/17/2008 1:53:09 PM

^^ Yeah, I talked with Fluor last year. I just can't relocate that far away right now.

9/17/2008 2:42:02 PM

i have to say that i don't think it's the job of the recruiter to be the one to introduce the company. I think it is up to the person seeking jobs/information to be the one to ask questions. If it's akward, who cares, next person.

I might make an appearance at state's career fair this year. Hopefully it all works out for me.

9/17/2008 2:53:19 PM

You're on a powertrip.

9/17/2008 3:21:00 PM

set em up

9/17/2008 3:43:10 PM