Hi Jumbos, we hope your semester is off to a smooth start! For this week’s installment of #GetHiredOnHandshake, we turn your attention to our upcoming Fall Career Fairs! This fall we will be hosting TWO career fairs – one virtually and one in-person. These events are open to students from all majors and programs who are interested in connecting with employers. Students are welcome and encouraged to attend both fairs if desired.
This event will be hosted in the Tufts Gantcher Center. We will be welcoming up to 100 employers to join us in the gym to connect with students. Come peruse the various company booths, chat with representatives, and discover new companies you may not have heard of. To see a list of attending employers, register for the fair here. Make sure to come prepared with your phone (for scanning company QR codes) and a professional outfit you love (for taking a professional photo for your LinkedIn at our photobooth!).
This fair will be hosted on the Handshake platform. There are two ways to engage with employers at virtual fairs on Handshake – one is in Group Sessions (30 minutes) and the other is through 1-on-1 meetings (10 minutes). As soon as you register, you can start building your schedule with these different sessions types and can continue to add throughout the fair as well.
You can learn all about both fairs by attending our Prepare for the Career Fairs webinar on February, September 16th from 12pm-1pm and by perusing our compiled list of virtual and in-person career fair resources. You can also visit our Career Center table in the Student Center on Mon-Thurs of this week from 12-2pm to ask us any questions you may have.
Since the virtual career fair will be on Handshake, below are some starter tips for putting your best foot forward on this platform:
TO PREPARE FOR THE VIRTUAL FAIR:
Make sure your Handshake Profile is completed and up to date! If this is your first time using Handshake, check out last week’s blog post for tips on how to get started with creating your profile. Your Handshake profile helps you get personalized recommendations for upcoming virtual events, and employers use profile fields to find students to invite to their sessions. Don’t let an incomplete or out-of-date profile keep you from getting discovered by recruiters!
Register for the fair. Registration for the fall fair opens today, September 12th. You cannot create your schedule until you have registered, so getting signed up is the first important step! Once you have registered, you can return to the fair page to set your schedule for the day.
Make your schedule. You must sign up for specific employer slots to participate in the fair. Employers will continually be adding sessions, so check back frequently as spots will fill up on a first come, first serve basis! We encourage you to fill in any gaps in your schedule with new employers who you may not have considered before to learn about additional opportunities and expand your network.
Have your resume critiqued by the Career Center. Attend our Career Lab to meet with a career advisor and go over your resume. Employers may take a look at your Handshake profile to learn more about you, so having a strong resume featured on your page will help you stand out. You can upload your resume as a public document by selecting Feature on Profile when you add it to your documents on Handshake.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
If you need us, we are here! On the day of the virtual fair, we will have a separate Zoom help room which you will be able to access on the fair page as well by clicking on the Help Room Button. You can also check out our Virtual Fair Troubleshooting and FAQs blog post for additional support.
We hope to see you at the Fall Career Fairs! If you have any questions, please reach out to Willa Mayo, Recruiting Coordinator, at willa.mayo@tufts.edu.
