The in-person career fairs are over and virtual career fairs are today! You survived and totally nailed it! Now what? Whether you went to the career fair solely for networking and making connections, gathering information, or met with an employer/organization and applied for an internship/full-time position—it’s time to follow-up. Following-up is very important, it shows the employer that you valued your conversation and time with them. It’s also a nice little reminder of you, because they met with a lot of students the day of the career fair!
Example of a follow-up email:
[Subject Line: Thank you for your time]
Dear [Interviewers Name],
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about the [Position Title] role. It was great getting to learn more about this position. [You can then talk about your goals, interests, and experiences] I am very eager at the opportunity of joining [Company/Business Name]. [Make sure to set yourself apart from other applicants interviewing for the position].
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing back from you,
[Signature]
This is also a great opportunity to grow your connections! You can connect with the employers you interviewed with on LinkedIn. LinkedIn also allows you to send a message to people you want to connect with, so you can send a quick thank you message to the employers through LinkedIn along with an email.
The first career fair I ever attended was last semester, Spring 2021. I was studying all online from home, so I attended the People-to-People virtual career fair. It’s still the same process of speaking with employers and following up. Although I was just gathering information on different employers and their businesses, they all appreciated me following up and reaching out to them after the career fair.
Now comes the hard part…waiting. Many students may experience rejection. Everyone in the world experiences rejection sometime in their life. All that matters are that you put yourself out there and made new connections and grew as a person, professionally. This year’s career fair, I didn’t get to speak with as many employers as I would’ve hoped, but last semester I spoke to a ton! I sent my resume to six different organizations and only heard back from two. I wasn’t looking for any position or internships at the time, just information and advice. It can be hard to not hear back from employers, but it is important to remember that they have hundreds of students talk with them in just a few days.
One thing I think would be very beneficial and helpful when dealing with job application rejection is asking the employer you applied to work with for some feedback on why you didn’t get the position. This will help you start the review and reflection process. It’s great to have connections and mentors to reach out to as well for support and advice. Don’t forget to never give up and look out for your next opportunity and adventure!
By: Taylor Mathis
9/29/2021