What to expect at Tinker and the Primes Career Fair Published Oct. 25, 2007 By Steve Auld Family Support Center TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- The Tinker and the Primes Career Fair is fast approaching. Do you know what to expect when you walk in the door to the career fair? The Family Support Center and Workforce Oklahoma will host the Tinker and the Primes Career Fair from 2 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Reed Center, 5800 Will Rogers Road in Midwest City. The career fair is open to all active duty and retired military personnel, current and retired civil service employees and all U.S. veterans who have served in the armed forces and their dependent family members. Registration is required and can be completed online at www.tinkerandtheprimes.com. Admission is free, but appropriate identification is required. The key to success in attending a career fair is preparation, preparation, preparation. Career Fair strategy Make the best use of your time at the career fair. With up to 40 or more employers attending the event, you probably won't have time to visit with each one. A list of the participating employers is available at the Family Support Center, Bldg. 6001. This will give you an opportunity to research the companies you are interested in and target your resumé to the types of positions for which they will be recruiting. Therefore, before attending the career fair, you'll already have an idea of which employers you will want to visit. Before you leave the house, do one final check. Do you have plenty of resumés, notepad or portfolio, two black pens, list of references and a master application? A master application is a generic application used to enter all pertinent information such as dates, salary, addresses, phone numbers, references and short job descriptions. Do you also have your company research information to quickly refer to before speaking with the employer? Dressed in appropriate business attire? Once at the career fair, check out the layout. Find the companies you are most interested in. Remember, the more well-known employers will have a long line of people in front of their table waiting to speak with them. Manage your time accordingly. Some employers will only be accepting resumés and others may be conducting on site interviews, so plan on being available for a short interview if the employer wishes. Have plenty of resumés available to hand out to employers. Even if you have to wait in a long line to get to speak with your ideal employer, remember to be friendly, polite and courteous. Marketing yourself In last week's Tinker Take Off, we discussed how to prepare a "three-minute commercial." Now is the time to put it to the test. Start by visiting with an employer that is not tops on your list in order to refine your commercial. Get those jitters out. Introduce yourself by greeting the representative with a firm handshake and smile. Be sure to annunciate, as it may be very noisy. Maintain good eye contact, but don't stare. Launch into your "three minute commercial" with confidence. Don't be afraid to ask questions, express interest and be enthusiastic. Be aware of the time you spend with the employer and the number of people behind you in line. Don't monopolize the employer's time. Make sure you leave copies of your resumé and pick up business literature, employment applications and position announcements as well as employer's business cards. This information can be used for follow up and further research or to target a future resumé toward a specific position. Employment applications Imagine yourself as an employer reviewing hundreds upon hundreds of employment applications. It soon becomes easier to determine a candidate is not qualified than it is to determine if they are qualified. How is that done? See if the job seeker followed the instructions on the application. When the application asks for last name, first name and middle initial, did the job seeker enter the information as requested? Was the application legible, neat and easy to read? Are there several blanks left unfilled? Are there spelling and grammatical errors? Don't miss a job because of these errors. When picking up an application, get two copies, just in case of a mistake. Pull out your master application and begin transferring information. Make sure the application is complete, accurate and easy to read. Either make a copy of your completed application or at least make a list of whom you applied with. This can be used for follow up later. Take good notes While at the career fair, it is good to jot down notes regarding the company and the representative. Include the name of the company, address, phone number, fax number, company representative's name and title, company information, specific job information, salary and benefits information. Keep all the company literature to help you prepare for an interview and to conduct follow up contacts. Before leaving the career fair, swing by the tables of the companies that really interest you. If they are available, thank the representatives again and let them know you will be in touch. Such gestures can leave a lasting impression and help them to remember you when you do contact them. Remember it isn't over yet. Don't forget to smile, be courteous, be professional -- you never know who you will meet later on. If you need further information or would like to get started on your resumé, call the Family Support Center at 739-2747 and sign up for a Resumé Writing workshop.