The on-the-spot Interview By: Jun Loayza
Under: Interview, Networking, Personal BrandingI was reading Wendy Terwelp’s blog when I came across a post entitled Job Fairs: Matchmaking 101. Wendy puts it perfectly because in essence that is what recruitment is. Recruitment is the matching of a company with the perfect candidate.In her blog, Wendy writes that you must be prepared for a brief interview when you go to career fairs. Now I know what you must be thinking, “Will a company really interview me during a career fair?” The answer is YES, companies will interview you on the spot if they truly feel like they made a connection with you and if they feel you can bring value to the company.
This reminded me of an event that Gabriel went to during his recruitment season. After class, he decided to go to a career fair, literally dressed up in a T-shirt and jeans. He made his round around the career fair and spoke to every company and pretty much every student at the event. He walked up to a consulting firm and proceeded to chat with them about being a sponsor for our consulting organization, Bruin Consulting. As they chatted, the interviewer was intrigued that Gabriel was recruiting this season, but instead of looking for a way to get himself a job, he was looking for a way to help the consultant recruit more qualified students.
During the middle of their conversation, the consultant whispered in the ear of the company representative that came with him and together they pulled Gabriel aside to a separate room of the career fair. Gabriel thought that they just wanted to chat more about Bruin Consulting, but to his surprise, they sat him down and started to interview him.
The real question now is, “How can I do the same thing that Gabriel did?” Well first of all, go to career fairs in a T-shirt in jeans so that you stand out… hahaha, j/k. The truth is, Gabriel got the on-the-spot interview because he connected well with the consultant. It was not about what was on his resume or what organization he represented; what truly mattered was that Gabriel was able to hold his own with the consultants (who were from a very prestigious consulting firm) and match their level of confidence.
This is the kind of confidence that you must portray and the kind of connection that you must make with company representatives. Gabriel was not there to desperately ask for a job; he was there to provide a source of value for the recruiter. Find a way to show that you want to contribute to the recruiter and not just take from them. It pays off as you can see from Gabriel’s on the spot interview.
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