[NFBNJ] Job Fair Participants: Nurturing your Network

[NFB New Jersey]

Amongst the most important tasks when you are preparing for a job interview
or a Job Fair is to start planning on how you will nurture your network.


Sure, you will prepare your Elevator Pitch, customize your Resume, and even
research companies you are interested in ahead of time. Here are some
things you might do:


   1. Create an Elevator Pitch that tells a story. Remember, using the STAR
   Method will help make you tell memorable stories when you are asked a
   Behavioral style question. This is what will make you stand out from the
   other applicants.
   2. Shake hands when you are leaving and always make and maintain good
   eye contact. Try to ask for a business card.
   3. Immediately after your meeting, make sure to take notes that will
   help you remember the big points you discussed. Maybe the Interviewer
   stated how they were looking for an employee with a certain set of skills,
   or they discussed a new project they have planned for the next quarter.
   4. Follow up with a Thank You note or email after the meeting. This is
   critical. It makes you more relevant when you send a thank you note that is
   meaningful and effectively reminds them of your meeting. Thank them for
   their time.

   5. By reminding them how you discussed a certain point – and how you
   might help with that element of their business, helps you stand out from
   the crowd.  You could say, “I appreciated our discussion of your plans to
   open a new Facilities Department in Burlington. I have experience
   establishing Facilities Departments and building infrastructure to quickly
   contribute to an organization.”
   6. Use LinkedIn to locate them and begin a formal networking with them
   via this platform. Ask them to be a “Connection.” Here you can offer to
   connect them with other people in the field. This is a give-and-take
   scenario. You are asking them to remember you and how you might fit in with
   their organization – but you are also offering to introduce them to network
   with your connections within LinkedIn.
   7. Periodically, follow up with them or chat with them through LinkedIn.
   This keeps the nurturing process going. This disarms the relationship and
   you begin to feel more comfortable with one another.
   8. This affords you the opportunity to ask for an Informational
   Interview. They are more likely to do this for someone with whom they now
   have a connection.
   9. If they can help you, they are more likely to do so. They would also
   be more likely to introduce you to someone you can more directly help you.

So, nurture the contacts you meet at a Job Fair or even at a Job Interview.
Even when you do not get the job, you stay on the company’s radar and might
get considered for another opportunity.


Nurture your network!


The Job Fair Team
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