8 Tips to Help You Get Ready For Career Conference

Emilie Rosin-

1. Go to the Writing Center on campus, located at Harvey Hall 174. There you can work on resumes, cover letters, and elevator pitches. Anything you need to write down, the trained peer tutors can help you with. Visit their homepage to learn more and view their hours! (http://wwwcs.uwstout.edu/writingcenter/)
2. Utilize Career Services as a resource. They also help you with resumes and cover letters, but they also offer help with co-op/internship/professional job searching and mock interviews. Not only do they help you get all of your documents in order, they also help you learn how to use them and present them to potential employers. (https://wwwprod.uwstout.edu/academics/career-services/student-resources)
3. Research the businesses and organization that will be at the Career Fair ahead of time. That way, you can select any that interest you and learn more about them. (https://liveuwstout.sharepoint.com/sites/2022/Career-Services/Career_Conference)
4. Print out resumes to hand out to potential employers. Figure out how many businesses you are interested in and then print out ~5-10 extra. Printing out a few references as well might come in handy. The exact number is really up to you, but it’s better to have too many resumes printed rather than not enough. If you don’t have your own printer, there are printers available in dorms, at the library, and Service Center.
5. Practice your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a 30-60 seconds speech on you– who you are, what you do, and what you’d like to do. Keep it brief, be persuasive, and focus on skills, qualifications, and assets. Once you’ve hammered out what you want to say, practice it! Tell it to your roommate, your friends, your family, or you can even go into the Writing Center and practice it to one of the tutors (with an added bonus of some feedback!).
6. Prepare your portfolio (if you’re an art student) in order to show off your work. You can also bring along resumes, but employers will likely be more interested in your portfolio. Know what sets you apart from other art students and incorporate that into your elevator pitch.
7. Business cards are another great way to push employers to remember you and further the conversation. They shouldn’t have a lot going on yet they should encourage employers contact you later on.
8. Dress appropriately. You are networking with working professionals and you want to make a good first impression. Essentially, try to stay away from shorts/jeans/t-shirts/sandals. Make sure you are wearing dark socks and if you wear a skirt, be sure to wear tights or nylons as well! You don’t have to wear tie or blazer, but it’s generally a good idea to wear them. If you are not sure about your outfit, maybe ask a friend.