How to Attend a Banking Career Fair

If you attend a banking career fair, you can instantly improve your job prospects by meeting with dozens of different financial services companies looking to staff job openings. Banking career fairs will generally visit most major cities in the United States at least once a year, so your best bet is to plan to attend early.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Resumes

1. Prepare a list of companies and positions you want to target when you attend the career fair. Do ample background research so you gain a complete familiarity with the companies you want to work for, what sets them apart from their competitors, and what you can offer them.
2. Find banking career fairs by registering with the Internet's leading job search websites. CareerBuilder.com is among the better-established websites that support search features specifically for career fairs in a wide range of industries, including banking (see Resources below).
3. Check with your local job banks or government human resources offices to see if they have any information on banking career fairs bound for your city. If none are looming in the near future, make sure you check back often.
4. Write out lists of questions to ask the employers you targeted in Step 1. Job seekers commonly err by assuming that interviews are always about the company asking them questions. The best interviews are "dialogues," in which both sides ask questions of each other.
5. Update your resume to reflect the most relevant and recent job and education experience you have. Put your strongest section (education, employment history, skill set) at the top of your resume. Make sure it's completely free of errors and make ample copies to bring with you.
6. Put your best foot forward by preparing a brief self-introduction that highlights your skills and experience. The first question you'll be asked by most company representatives is, "Tell me about yourself." Tell them what they want to hear: how you can help their company.
7. Follow up with the employers who interested you most. Ask everyone you meet for business cards, and contact them directly within a day or two of the fair. Always be professional and courteous, but interested in working for them.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear formal business attire to attend a banking career fair. While it may suffice to dress more casually for career fairs in other industries, you'll want to make as professional an impression as possible at a banking job fair.

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