6 Tips for MBA Career Fair Success | Graziadio Voice: Business ...

I?m a first-year International MBA student from Venezuela. When I first got to Pepperdine, all I seemed to hear was, ?You have to network.?? So I decided to attend the National Society of Hispanic MBA Conference (NSHMBA) which is held once a year? and attended by 500 companies.

It was my first time at a conference and my first real networking event, so it was very stressful! I received many comments and some good advice before attending. Bring business cards, extra resumes and dress appropriately in dark colors are obvious. Thinking of attending one of these conferences? Here are six tips that might not occur to you:

Register For The Complete Conference

When registering, if possible, don?t limit your attendance to the career fair; go to the complete conference. By going to the conference for three days, I was able to attend 45-minute company info sessions. They were very interesting and I had great opportunities to network with the speakers and others sitting near me at all the lunches and dinners. The different people I randomly chatted with amazed me.

Apply Before Attending

Usually conferences have a job seeker website where you can apply to the jobs offered at the conference. This is very important because companies actually reply pretty fast if they?re interested, and they do screen phone interviews before the conference to see if you qualify for a onsite interview. They can call you even two days before the conference!

Plan

Make a plan before you go. What companies do you want to talk to? Prioritize them. Go to one that is of least interest to you first, but don?t take too long before going to those you really want, because some have a list to sign up for interviews and if you?re too late, all the spots might be filled!

Separate From Your Group

Go alone, or if you go with a group, try to sit at different tables at lunch. There are so many interesting people who attend these conferences, so you don?t want to miss out on mingling with them. I sat next to a person that had 30 year of experience in supply chain management which is one of the career focuses I?m thinking of taking so it was great to have some insight on how it?s like to work in this area!

Don?t Limit Your Networking to Recruiters Only

I really enjoyed meeting people at the conference, and they weren?t just recruiters or employees of my dream company. Many were just students like me, and talking to them was as beneficial as talking to employees. You can learn just as much from people in similar stages of your life.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don?t give yourself a hard time if it didn?t go as well as planned. There will be many more conferences and events ? the more you practice the more ready you?ll be next time.

Andreina is a 20-month International MBA student from Venezuela with a concentration in finance. Prior to coming to Pepperdine University, Andreina completed her undergraduate degree in industrial engineering. She has worked in the finance and controlling department at Telefonica, a large telecommunication service company. Upon completing her MBA, Andreina is interested in pursuing a role at a consumer packaged goods company and hopes to lead a long career in supply chain management.

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Source: http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/studentblog/index.php/6-tips-for-mba-career-fair-success/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=6-tips-for-mba-career-fair-success

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