Tips to Increase Your Effectiveness at the Education Fair 2006
After you have checked in at the MSUM table and received a map of the employer booth areas and a schedule of school district information (group) presentations, sit in a quiet area to review the information and prioritize a list of schools you wish to target to help you move around the booth area efficiently. Plan to attend the presentation of a school of great interest to you because you will gain significant information to help you market yourself effectively in the hiring process. The presentations are usually one hour in length.
Orient yourself to the facility by locating the employer booth and scheduled interview areas and locations of restrooms, refreshment stands and telephones. The employer booth area will be in the Exhibit Hall on the lower level of the Minneapolis Convention Center. Scheduled interviews will be held in a separate area. Use map provided to find it. Recruiters will come to the waiting area and call the name of the candidate scheduled to interview. The waiting area for interviews and student lounge areas will be identified with signs on Fair day as will the rooms in which district presentations will be held. Each room will have a directory outside the door indicating all other locations, so you will be able to find your way around the facility easily. If you have questions, ask a Career Services host (identified with a "Host" ribbon on name tag or return to your campus table for assistance.
At 9:00 a.m. the employer booth areas will be open to candidates. School districts have been asked to staff their booths from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to provide candidates with sufficient opportunity to meet the school representative(s). When you approach a booth - smile confidently, look directly in the eyes of the recruiter, introduce yourself, offer a firm handshake, share brief positive comments about your capabilities or a concise example of how you have inspired a love of learning or made a significant impact on the life of a student. Whatever you say, be sure it reflects your best professional self and that it flows in a conversational manner rather than sounding like a "canned" comment. Be sure the recruiter knows the areas in which you hold or will hold licenses. Offer a resume and point out some evidence of key skills or experience with young people to convince the employer to schedule an interview with you at the Fair. Be assertive and market yourself effectively. Maintain good eye contact as you communicate with the recruiter. Ask for the opportunity to interview! (Note: The interview area at the Minneapolis Convention Center closes at 5 p.m. If an employer wishes to hold a later interview, it will need to be scheduled at another location.)
If a school district indicates that they are not interviewing at the Fair, market yourself effectively anyhow because they are attending the Fair to identify a pool of strong candidates to consider as openings occur. You want to be remembered positively when you call, write, Fax or e-mail to follow-up with them. Ask for guidance on how to best keep in touch with the district to learn of openings that may occur later so you can time your follow-up for maximum effectiveness. Find out if all openings for teachers and other education professionals are listed on the school district web site. Ask about the hiring process and its time lines and try to get a sense of what the potential might be for openings in your licensure area.
Interviews/Follow-up - If you are granted an interview in one of the private interview areas, the recruiter will issue a pass that will allow you to enter the room where interviews are held. If the interview schedule is full, indicate your interest in returning to the booth area to visit with the recruiter in the afternoon when the candidate traffic has diminished. Some recruiters may schedule appointments for interviews in the booth later in the afternoon. If you are interested in a school district you interviewed with, send a typed, professional thank you letter or thank you card handwritten neatly in black or dark blue ink. Whenever possible, include a comment in the thank you that will bring you to mind. You may want to take a brief break to make some notes following the interview (before you visit with the next employer), so it will be easier to prepare your letters of thanks and/or implement follow-up plans. Address the thank you to the recruiter who interviewed you (get his/her business card). Include application materials that you have completed following the directions provided on the application form(s). Include credentials and any other materials the school system has requested.
Pre-select Interviews - From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. employers may hold scheduled interviews with candidates they have pre-selected from letters/e-mails/resumes/credentials sent prior to the Fair or scheduled during the Fair while conversing in the booth area. If you have a pre-select interview, you will need a letter from the district or an interview pass to enter the interview area.
Lunch will be on your own. The booth area will be open over noon hour and some employers may choose to schedule interviews through the lunch hour (11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. is the time employers will eat in shifts). You may wish to leave the Convention Center for an hour to give yourself a refreshing break. Remove your name tag as you leave and put it back on when you return.
It is gracious to express verbal thanks to a recruiter that you have spoken with briefly in the booth area, if it seems a natural thing to do based on the conversation you have had.
Wear your name tag so it is in plain view! Place it on the right lapel if you are wearing a suit or in that general position if you are wearing a garment that does not have lapels.
Your behavior will be observed at all times while you are in the Convention Center so make sure it is professional. Do not chew gum!
If you make a commitment to interview at the Fair, it is expected that you will keep the appointment. "No shows" are frustrating for recruiters and reflect poorly on the candidate and the university.
Avoid being one of the candidates who offers a limp handshake and waits to be grilled. Be positive, confident and take an active part in the interview or in the conversations you have with recruiters in the booth area. Try to generate and maintain interest by smiling, responding to questions with specific and concise examples, keeping your voice lively, maintaining a pleasant vocal tone, exhibiting posture that will keep your non-verbal communication positive, using humor appropriately and avoiding pat answers or clichés.
Use transition statements to share information about yourself that the interviewer may not have addressed (e.g., "That's interesting, I had an experience which relates..." or "May I tell you about...").
Respond truthfully, while always painting a positive picture of yourself (e.g. "I have not yet had an opportunity to..., but in a similar situation, I...").
Know what you are looking for, what you have to offer, and what questions you will ask about the school district and the position.
Listen carefully and take conversational clues from the interviewer so you will know when to end a response and when the interview or conversation in the booth area is over. If you have a long line of people behind you waiting to talk to a recruiter, be sure to keep your conversation short enough so you will not make the recruiter uneasy or irritate those in line behind you.
The Fair can be a learning experience if you keep your eyes and ears open. You will get a sense of what works and of what harms a candidate's chance for serious consideration.
At the end of the interview, offer a firm handshake and express your appreciation, using the interviewer's last name preceded by Mr. or Ms. (unless the individual introduced herself as Miss or Mrs.). Don't leave the interview without expressing your sincere interest in the position (if that is true) and trying to find out when you can expect to hear from the district.
GOOD LUCK! Stop at the Minnesota State University Moorhead table at any time if you have questions, concerns, or would like to share some comments about your experience at the Fair. We wish you every success!
(Source of some of the above content: Teacher Employment Fairs, Job Search Handbook for Educators by AAEE)