As an international student, you are busy in balancing part time job and study. In this process, you do not have time to realise the opportunities around you. You just overlook them and focus on something short term. Today’s article is about how you can identify those opportunities and achieve them.

I was in a similar situation as a student. However, I made sure I attend career fairs to see what employers were expecting in a graduate. I have applied for number of graduate programs in CBA, KPMG and EY and was rejected numerous times because these companies were accepting only Australian citizens and the candidates with IELTS 8 band score. I did not have either of them. So obviously rejected.

Apart from these companies, I did not know any other source of information about internships, cadetships or vacation programs. I was not even 100% sure how can I benefit from attending the career fairs. Being an introvert, I used to walk around, collect brochures, ask couple of questions here and there and go home.

Well, my actions were a result of lack of preparation. I had no clue what to prepare, what to ask and how to gain more output by attending them.

After working more than 13 years in Australia, I have understood what the employers look for in a candidate and how students should prepare for it. Also learned there are number of companies that accept International students with valid visa working rights.

What are Job/Career fairs:

Career/job fairs are the events held by a group of companies to attract the talent at one place. In other words, it is a live market place to job seekers to find opportunities from the companies exhibited at the event.

On the other hand, these events help organisations to save money on recruitment costs and have access to many applicants at one place. This is a good place for a student/candidate to apply for jobs and seek information and update themselves on the skills required.

Where to find Job fairs?

Usually the job or career fairs are held within the university campus 1 to 2 times a year depending on the university. These are open to that particular university students only.

 Also there are some events held publicly at convention centres and open to public.  If you want to know more about them you can join this facebook group.

What jobs are offered?

Jobs recruited through these fairs could be entry level jobs, internships, cadetships, graduate or vacation programs. Penultimate year students or fresh graduates are eligible to apply.

Internships: Companies offer internships for certain period of time (10-12 weeks). This would help students to understand the real work environment while applying their theory skills.

Cadetships: Students can work part time and continue their education as full time. This is offered until you finish your graduation and may lead to permanent full time position afterwards.

Graduate program: This is commonly a two-year program and the graduates are rotated within number of departments of the organization. These are focused on developing leadership skills while applying your technical knowledge gained at University.

Vacation program: The name says it all, offered job during the vacation time for a period of 6-9 weeks.

These programs offer you many benefits:

1. Helps you to secure practical experience in your field of study
2. Network with qualified professionals
3. Helps you to grow in your career strategically
4. Applying acquired knowledge in the practical world
5. Make you ready for employment as soon as you finish your degree
6. Helps you develop further skills needed in your profession
7. Understand the broader picture of your degree
8. Helps you find the good mentor to guide you to your future career.
9. Last but not least, saves you heaps of money in paying to placement agencies 

What you need to do to achieve the best outcome from the events?

There are 3 stages for any event, divide them into three categories like before, during and after the event. This helps you to prepare for each step to achieve the best results.  

Before the event:

#1 Prepare your resume:

List down your qualifications, projects and skills you have obtained during your graduation. Make sure the content on your resume truly represent your skills and knowledge. Also ensure to add any voluntary work you have completed during your study.

#2 Find the information about the companies attending the events:

Universities provide the information before the event with the list of companies attending the event. Research about those companies like their turnover, business activities and their current projects.

Note: If you are an international student, select the companies who also recruit international students.

#3 See what sort of jobs they offer

Once analysed the company, see what jobs they offer for fresh graduates. Listen to the videos or read testimonials of previous interns or graduates. Try to find them in Linkedin and connect to see if they can provide you any information. Request if they can provide you some tips on obtaining the job.

#4 Check any job vacancies available at the time of the event

Go into their CAREERS section of the company and see whether they have current vacancies in your field of study. If so, look for the job description and analyse how your resume addresses it. Change resume if you think you have missed out to mention something they are looking for. Making UP your resume may lose credibility on the owned skills. so Just be CAREFUL.

#5 Shortlist the companies you want to approach

Once the above work is completed, shortlist the companies you want to really work for. Select your top 5 or 10 and another 5 as your second preference (depending on the number of companies attending the event). This helps you to have a plan B to execute.

#6 Prepare some questions to ask

Based on your research above, write down the list of questions you want to ask the recruiter at the event. Sometimes you may not have enough time to do this, you can reach them via Linkedin before the event and approach them at the event. This helps you to develop a rapport with them and make you feel comfortable.

Hints for starting a conversation:

Pick some skills they are looking for; showcase your projects or certificates you have obtained.

During the event

Event day is a ‘BIG DAY’ for you. It is like facing many interviewers at the same time. Be prepared and dress accordingly. Don’t be PANIC!  Make a note in a book for each company’s key achievement and projects from your research.

#1. Introduce yourself, you have plenty of information in hand to talk about the company and their projects (because of your RESEARCH). You can talk about which project you liked the most and how it affected the community and wellbeing. Brian Tracy (Motivational speaker and Author) says “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution”. This makes you realise at this moment.

#2. Talk about your skills you have obtained during your course of study and any projects you have undertaken.

#3. If you don’t own a skill they are looking for, ask how you can obtain it. For example, if they ask about a practical experience on a particular software program; you can say you have knowledge on that program but how can you get practical experience on it. You may get some leads.

#4. Finally request their email address and also ask politely whether you can add them to your linkedin profile.

After the event

#1. Thank you note:

Send a thank you note to those who have given you the email addresses. Believe me this really work wonders. Recently I have attended a conference and send a thank you note to those who inspired me. They responded positively, when I meet them next time I will feel more confident in talking to them and avail more information from their experience. Eventually, this helps to develop strong relationships. Find thank you note sample letters below:

#2. Add to your linkedin profile

Grow your linkedin profile with valuable professionals. Don’t forget to update your linkedin profile with your new achievements and jobs; this helps others in your network notice your progress. If you admire anyone from your profile, personally message them to let them know your achievements and seek advice for the next step. From my experience, they help you in the right direction. Again this helps to develop strong professional relationship.

#3. Send documents

During your conversations in the event, if anyone asked you to send any documents or your resume, send them as soon as you can.

You may be interested:

Internship opportunities for international students

How to prepare the best resume as a fresher

Easy to get job in Australia if your degree is in this list

 

Some of the sample letters you can look into:

Letter 1:

Hi XXX,

It was a nice meeting you at the XXX Career fair/Networking event. I really enjoyed our conversation and learning more about the skills needed in my field of study for a company like yours. I truly appreciated all your advice and tips on how to break into industry.

I am looking into the options of undertaken  XXXXX course as discussed. I have also updated my resume as per our discussion.

Could you please review and provide your valuable feedback in your spare time.

Thank you

XXXXX

 

Letter 2:

Hi XXXX

It was a pleasure meeting you at the XXXXX event held on XXXX. I am very thankful to you for providing valuable advice on breaking into industry. I keep a goal to achieve those skills mentioned during our conversation. I will also aim for working as a volunteer/trainee to apply those skills.

I have viewed your professional profile in Linkedin. I really admired the way you grew in your career and handled yourself as a professional. Most importantly, I loved the way you develop your XXXX skills and knowledge on XXXXX program, So I was wondering whether you would be willing to guide me in my career.

I assure you I won’t be wasting your time as a mentor because I am fully committed and determined to grow in my career with your valuable suggestions.

Thank you

XXXX

Top tips to stand out from the crowd

1. Preparation is the key. I cannot stress enough! Prepare yourself physically and mentally on how to present yourself confidently at the event.
2. Dress to the occasion.
3. Ensure you arrive to the event as early as you can. It helps you to meet everyone before others creep in.
4. Ensure you have copies of updated resume.
5. Create an awesome LinkedIn profile to reflect who and what you are.
6. Think of all the professional achievements during your study.
7. Practice the right questions to ask.
8. Undertake some research on your career before asking any questions.
9. Last but not the least be authentic and genuine, BE YOU.

Conclusion:

From day one of joining the university, it is good to plan to attend as many career or job fair events as you can (even though you are not eligible). This develops enormous confidence while observing the trends within your field of study. On the other hand, attending one event may not fetch you a job unless you have all required skills and knowledge. So ATTEND as many career or job fairs as you can, held in your university or open to public.

Degree certificate qualifies you to apply for the job but skills fetch you a job. This is PROVEN in my case. So updating skills while you are studying is very IMPORTANT. Continuously research on the skills needed for your desired job. This helps you to be ready by the time you finish your studies.

One more SUPER important note: Refer to the blog’s job board on regular basis for  Internships, vacation and cadet program vacancies offered by companies to International students.

Let me know in COMMENTS if you have attended any events and what was the outcome.