How to Prepare for the Fair

  • Watch and review our online workshops on Career Fair Success and Successful Resumes and Cover Letters
  • Prepare your resume. We want you to impress your potential employer (s) at the Spring Career Fair with your perfect resume.  Join us at the ResumeFest  on April 15th! This event is prepared just for you to get your resume reviewed by our Career Center counselors or Peer Advisors for 15 minutes. Come early, as it’s on a first come first served basis, and sign up starts in the Career Center at 8:00am.
RESUMEFEST
WHEN:  April 15th, 2013
TIME:  8:15am-4:30pm
WHERE:  Mary Gates Hall, Room 134 (The Career Center)
WHAT TO BRING:  A hard copy of your resume
SIGN UP: Sign up starts in the Career Center (MGH 134) at 8:00am.
                First come, first served basis!
  • Resume Workshop. The Career Center holds regular resume workshops each week. Once you have your resume drafted, stop by for a Same-Day Session for a critique.
  • Submit your resume to the 2013 Spring Career Fair Resume Book! Select employers have purchased access to this book, in the hopes of identifying talented UW job seekers. Whether or not you're attending the fair, don't miss this opportunity to stand out! Click here for more details.
  • Research the employers. Spend a few minutes researching the employers who are attending. The list below is updated regularly and will be posted as a downloadable 'Spring Career Fair Guide' in early April. Research those employers you’re interested in meeting with by visiting their web sites and doing a quick review of them online and in trade magazines.
  • Practice your approach. What do you want the employer to know about you? Which of your skills and past experiences do you want to highlight? Have a short 15-second “sales pitch” ready and make sure to build in some good questions of your own to ask the employer.
  • Make sure to attend our Career Fair Success workshop for help in all these areas
  • No matter how strong a candidate you are, if you show up at a career fair in jeans and flip-flops or looking like you've just rolled out of bed, you're not likely to be taken as seriously as if you've taken the time to dress for the occasion.

    Professional Dress

    Take it easy on perfume and cologne, avoid overly-flashy makeup or jewelry, and take a minute to run a comb through your hair and a brush over your teeth. All quick and easy steps that can make a BIG difference in first impressions.
    We recommend business casual attire (or better) for this event which means the following:

    • For men:
      Slacks, a button-down shirt or collared shirt, dress shoes (no sneakers please, however trendy the Vans-with-a-suit look is right now), a tie is optional. Another option would be a suit.
    • For women:
      Slacks or a skirt with a blouse or collared shirt, blazer or jacket optional. Another option is a suit. Need somewhere to change, or to stash your school clothes while you're at the Fair?


    Lockers and storage facilities are not available at the fair so consider asking an adviser if you can leave things in their office, asking a buddy to keep an eye out for you while he or she studies at the library, or make a quick run home to drop your things off before the fair.