The scent and smoke and sweat of a careers fair are nauseating at three in the afternoon. At least that’s how Ian Fleming might have recorded it, had he found himself working in graduate recruitment.
For university careers fairs, 3pm is the witching hour. All the freebies have gone, the crowds are thinning out, recruiters no longer have to shout to make themselves heard and the organisers, grateful that no student demos have materialised, allow themselves the first cautious sighs of relief.
But for the serious graduate job hunter, 3pm is the hour when careers are won and lost. Why? Because, as any skilled job hunter won’t tell you (after all, why increase the competition?) the optimum time for recruiter-networking is later in the afternoon. That’s when the hobnobbing really begins.
Unfortunately, this is the time when most students are preparing to leave.
Exactly why so few students take advantage of this gilt-edged career opportunity is partly because many still arrive and leave early in the day – usually with bags of randomly gathered brochures, pens, corporate boomerangs and complimentary sweets. Like thousands of others across the country, they leave just as things are about to get interesting.
One reason for this mass migration could be the fairs themselves. After years of running them, most universities’ careers fairs have evolved to look suspiciously like shopping malls. This can give students a misleading impression about what’s really going on behind the glossy stands. Careers fairs are shopping malls with a difference. Here, it’s not the customer who makes decision to buy, but the shopkeeper.
Fortunately, serious job hunters have long ago twigged how careers fairs really work. While the early-morning crowds mob the popular stands, serious job hunters look on coolly from afar, biding their time, waiting for the right moment to strike. This inner coolness comes from doing their homework ‘pre’ rather than ‘post’ fair. Not for them the sagging arms and strained muscles of the serial brochure-gatherer. Serious job hunters arrive at careers fairs knowing exactly which firms are attending and who they want to hire. They’re also clear about which recruiters they want to meet, and why.
But anyone can do this. What marks the really serious job hunter out from the amateur isn’t merely preparation. It’s something much more important; something they carry in their wallet for emergencies. It’s called a business card.
There’s a famous moment in every James Bond film when Bond is asked to give his name. With trademark poise and precision he replies: “Bond. James Bond.” If only things today were that simple. Email has ruined everything. Today, Bond would feel obliged to give out not only his name but also his email address. This would be followed by his office and mobile phone numbers and, no doubt, his Facebook account. Information which in 1960 took two-seconds to relay can now easily take upwards of two-minutes.
This is where the business card comes in. Before you start networking with graduate recruiters, do yourself a favour and get a business card. Producing it will cost you next to nothing; the effects, however, can be truly impressive.
For a start, a business card will make you stand out from the crowd. Despite the mass competition for jobs, few graduates attending this year’s careers fairs have yet grown wise to the potential of the business card. Instead, most appear to be continuing with the age-old practice handing employers scrappy pieces of paper, or terminally-creased CV’s, on which personal details are hastily scrawled. So unwieldy are these that most will be lost well before the recruiter makes it to his or her car. Hand a recruiter your business card and immediately you set yourself apart from the competition.
Some people think of business cards for students as too formal. So what? There’s a recession on. Talk to employers and they will tell you that no one ever throws a business card away. Instead, they are collected, like modern-day cigarette cards. Emails are deleted, CVs are shredded, addresses are lost, but the business card always gets through.
For a student, a business card is an easy way to make a powerful first impression, while ensuring that personal details are conveyed accurately and efficiently to the people that count.
Business cards don’t have to be elaborate or expensive. All that’s needed is a plain piece of card and on it, your name, address, email, and phone number. Then get lots of copies made. Once your network starts to grow, you’ll need them.
Psychologically, business cards have another big advantage. Once handed to a recruiter, it’s almost impossible for them to avoid returning the favour. Soon, you’ll soon find that the more cards you hand out, the more you get back. From this, your network will grow – and all because of a simple piece of white card.
In today’s job market, students need to use every advantage available. Unlike Bond, graduates only live once.
