Why should I go to a Job Fair?
A job fair offers you the possibility to collect Information about companies you are interested in or to get in contact with a company you want to work for. Often there will be a contact person you can give your CV to. You don’t always have to speak German perfectly – a lot of companies are oriented globally and have, especially at fairs, experiences with English speaking visitors. You can also discover some companies you weren’t interested in or didn’t hear of before. The fair can be a chance for you to talk about topics, such as working conditions, work-life-balance, further training or internationality directly with your “employer”.
What do I have to do?
First impressions matter! If you want to get in contact with a company you should look presentable. You don’t necessarily need to put on a suit, as it is more important for most companies that you make an authentic impression. It is useful to carry a short version of your CV or, If you have a certain company in mind you want to apply to, a complete application, that you can give to the company directly. Engage in the conversation, ask questions and show them how interested you are in their company. Not only are your job-related qualifications are important If you’re introducing yourself, but also hobbies, projects, internships and volunteer work.
What’s your target?
What do I want to successfully do at the fair? Do I want a job offer or do I just want to collect Information? Do I want to know what qualities I need for the job? What are the chances for your career and how can you develop it? To have the best possible outcome, you should ask yourself those questions beforehand.
Preparations
Don’t forget to check for a hotel or other reservations as early as possible. Especially hotels, trains and intercity busses are booked out quite early.
Before you visit the fair you should think about the companies you are interested in. It is useful to get your hands on the fair catalogue and the layout. A popular method is to rank the companies due to your priorities and then map the best way through the fair.
You should definitely keep in mind that fairs often offer workshops and presentations you can participatein only once during the fair.Plan your way to the companies according to those events. It can be useful to construct a timetable.
If you are planning on visiting the fair with your friend, talk about your interests beforehand. If you have different ideas or goals you want to achieve, you should separate during the fair.
Don’t forget to renew your social media profiles. LinkedIn, Xing etc. should be up-to-date and present your experiences and know-how at first sight.
Follow-up
The fair is over, what now? Sit down and sort the companies you’ve spoken with. Which did interest you, which did not? Sort them carefully and try to organize all the Information you received.
You should maintain your contacts. If you apply, your application should be send in in a timely manner. It can be useful to mention the fair and the conversation.
Job-fair for students and graduates
If you’re looking for a fitting and interesting job fair for you, you should always check out the main focus of the fair.
The Karrieremesse Business Contacts takes place every year in Münster and offers possible contacts to around 50 employers.
The Bonding - Messe is aiming at students and graduates who studied MINT-Subjects. It takes place every yearin different places in Germany.
The Absolventenkongress takes place in cities all around Germany, among others in Cologne. The fair offers the possibility to meet employers since 30 years.
The LOOKIN! fair takes place at the University Paderborn every year. The currently only and biggest Job fair in the area OWL is offering students the chance to contact companies throughout the region.
The University of Paderborn informs about job fairs or similar offers here.
Being able to talk in German will be a great advantage for you. So here is a list with vocabulary you might find useful while visiting a job fair and working in Germany:
If you want to learn even more and practice for your job, you can find different tasks here. The Geothe Institut is offering this service for free.
