Last night at the career fair, you made loads of great contacts and collected business cards from each of the recruiters you spoke with. Now what? Today, take some time to follow-up with each of them. Refresh their memories about who you are – maybe add something that you talked about to make you stand out. Remember, they saw many students last night and may need some help remembering you.
When you follow-up, make sure to thank the recruiter for their time and reinforce your interest in the organization. If you didn’t fit with the positions they had last night, ask them if they would forward your resume on to someone in their company that would be interested. This thank you should be in business letter format and pasted directly into the email. You can then attach your resume (PDF format) so that they have an electronic copy.
The next thing you should do is connect with them on LinkedIn. Chances are they have a LinkedIn profile and this is a great way to stay connected with them in the future. You never know when you will be able to use a contact in a company.
If a recruiter asked you to complete a profile on the “careers” section of their website, make sure you complete this step as soon as possible. Recruiters will ask students to take this extra step for a few reasons – often they are not able to call you for an interview if your resume has not come through their website. It’s a legal issue for their company – not a “brush off” to get you to leave the booth. You would be surprised at how few students will actually take this step when asked. Recruiters do check on this and if you take the 20 minutes to complete your profile and upload a resume – chances are that you are serious about working for their company.
Students who have a firm understanding of the importance of following-up stand out from the crowd. Don’t let the business cards sit on your desk – send a few quick emails and hopefully land a few interviews!
