College jobs fairs can be a great way to get your foot in the door of a specific career that interests you. In fact, this is why college is so important, because not only will it give you the education to pursue your dreams, but also it might even bring your dreams to you. A college job fair is essentially a forum where some of the biggest businesses in a number of different industries and fields come to your college to recruit future employees. You might even get to start working with them in an internship or part time capacity while you are still in college. Yet, one of the best ways to get on the black list and not get hired is by not following a few crucial rules. Here are 5 ways to make the best of a college job fair.

1. Dress appropriately. Yes, you might be in college, but it doesn’t give you a free pass to where pajamas to what could possibly be a preliminary job interview. You wouldn’t where your nighttime flannels to a real job interview, would you? At a job interview it is crucial that you dress semi-formal or wear something that is suited to the specific job that you are trying to acquire. If everyone wears a suit, wear a suit. Even if you are taking Internet courses at University of Florida online, and there is a job fair, you still want to look the part.
2. Get plenty of sleep so that you don’t look like a drone when you are meeting possible employees. Sure you might be in college, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to go out and party the whole night before. It is essential that you are bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to shake some hands. You really want to put your best face forward at a college job fair.
3. Prepare how you will talk about yourself to possibly employers. This is called your “elevator speech” and it has to be spot on. In most cases you want to fit this speech within 20 seconds. Anything more and you can risk sounding too loquacious and you could possibly bore a possible employer. In 20 seconds you want to introduce yourself and give them a pretty good idea of how ambitious your are and what an asset you would be to their company.
4. Do your research. Know who will be attending your next college job fair. You want to sound knowledgeable when you meet with a possible employer. They want to know that you are familiar with their company, their history and legacy. Going into a job fair without doing the research is a little bit like visiting a foreign country and not knowing the language.
5. Lastly, always follow up. If you have a list of email addresses and contacts be sure to send a brief message saying thanks for the chat and the opportunity. When you graduate you might want to send them another email saying that you are ready to get to work.