How to get the most out of virtual job fairs and tips on what you need to know in order to ace a job interview

1. Life Choices
Getting That Job - Essential tips
RichardButlerTheSuccessCoach.com
Feb 2016

2. Chapter 1
Virtual Job Fairs
The landscape of recruitment is changing
The traditional job fair is something I am sure you are familiar with. You walk
from exhibition booth to exhibition booth looking at the recruiters, perhaps
talking to one or two of them, and of course collecting free pens and other
assorted goodies. However things are changing and these traditional job
fairs are too!
There is a new type of fair and that fair is called the Virtual Job Fair. A virtual
job fair allows you to visit a job fair without leaving your own home! However
you still need to be aware of how to get the most from these fairs. Below I
have listed some valuable tips to make sure you get more success at a
virtual job fair:
Before attending a virtual job fair you should
do the following:
1. Plan in advance. Although more convenient, a virtual job fair can be a bit
more challenging that a normal job fair. Since there is no need to travel,
there may be more events, more recruitment firms and even more
information. Therefore you need to establish priorities.
2. Presenting your profiles. Make sure that your social media profiles,
such as LinkedIn are up to date, correct and sell you as a professional. If
you use Twitter make sure all your comments are suitable for a work
environment.

3. 3. Turbo charge your website! If you don’t already have one, now might be
the time to set up a website to give more information about yourself
(remember any recruiter or company will google your name to find out
more about you!) A simple website will allow you to post news, views and
reviews of what is happening in your industry and show that you like to
keep up to date with your industry.
4. Picture this. Make sure that your website/LinkedIn or Twitter profile have
a professional headshot picture of you. You don’t necessarily have to go
to a professional photographer but you do need to make sure the picture
looks professional. Therefore no cropped pictures from nights out etc
5. Testing, testing 1-2-3. Make sure your computer is working and reliable
just in case you are asked to do a Skype or other video conference
review.
6. Check your documentation. Since you are looking for a new position I
assume you have read and reread your resume and that everything is
spell checked. However, are you certain that your documentation can be
read online by different browsers and on mobile devices? Remember
some recruiters may be accessing your information on the go.
7. What’s your elevator pitch. Something we all need to work on is our
elevator pitch – that 60 second pitch where we can talk about ourselves.
In many virtual job fairs recruiters will ask you to either record a short
introduction about yourself or ask you for a short live video call. Either
way you need to be ready!

4. 8. Be prepared for questions. The main advantage for recruiters of
attending a virtual job fair is it makes the whole process of hiring easier
and quicker. Always be prepared in case a recruiter asks you to do a
quick video interview – ensure that you are not in your pjs and also be
ready to answer interview questions on the spot!
Steps to Take During and After a Virtual Job
Fair
1. Be professional at all times. Always act in a professional manner. This
means that you must pay attention to your grammar, how you speak (if
doing an interview), your tweets and your LinkedIn comments – you are
being watched!
2. Time is precious. It is easy to get carried away and lose time at
traditional job fair. This can as well at a virtual job fair – you spend too
much time researching companies, you try to upload or submit your CV
to every company. Remember if you have planned ahead you know the
companies you are interested in and you can focus on those.
3. Keep a note of things. As you virtually visit recruiters and communicate
with them, take notes so you can keep a check on who you have talked
to and what they said to you. This helps you reflect on what recruiters or
companies you want to follow up on.

5. 4. Learn something new. One thing that many fairs offer (both virtual and
traditional) are free webinars and seminars. Take advantage to learn as
much as you can as more often than not they have experts talking about
relevant topics that can help in your job search.
5. It’s about networking. Although you may not get a job there and then,
job fairs are are a great way to make new contacts – with recruiters and
other key people within companies. Make sure that you exchange
emails. But even before attending you can look for the key players in
companies and visit their LinkedIn profile to find out more about them.
Once you have met people make sure that you follow up with them.
6. People appreciate a thank you. If, and when, you talk to people make
sure you always thank them for the opportunity and thank them for their
time. People remember and appreciate this.

6. Chapter 2
Ace that interview!
Top tips to help have a better interview
Once you have submitted your resume, you then have to wait and hope that
you are called for interview. Of course this is what many people fear! The
interview, selling yourself, deciding on what to say. Ahhhhh! For many it is
nerve racking, but just hold on and let’s see what top tips I have for you
today!
Interviews are a game, and like any game you need to know the rules. The
more interviews you do the better you become at them – it’s as simple as
that. Plus remember that many people won’t have had that many interviews
as they won’t have changed jobs that often. To become good at job
interviews you need preparation and confidence. My tips are going to help
you!
Remember that you may be 1 of up to 20 people being interviewed for the
job so:
First, second and third impressions count!
Richard’s 9 tips for succeeding at interviews:
What are you saying about yourself online? I work with recruiters and I
know that they go and look through social media profiles! It is said that 90%
of employers will also do this!. Always be careful of what you post on social
media and also ensure that your settings are set to private. You don’t want
to miss an opportunity because of something silly you posted!.

7. In some countries it is now legal for an employer to ask for your social
media account usernames so they can see what you are
doing on social media. They can even, in some countries, ask you to log in
so they can see what you have been posting!
Before the interview
1. Do your detective work. I remember, early in my career, doing a great
interview only to be asked the following question “So when did the
company start?” I had to make something up but nearly kicked myself
for not having done my research. Not knowing the basics can kill the
interview! Research the company online, look at their LinkedIn company
page but also check out their other social media profiles. Indeed it is also
good to view the social media profiles of the interviewers to see if you
can get any useful information about them with regard to their business
life.
2. Dress to impress. Sounds like such a cliche but it is true. However,
what ever you do don’t over do it. For guys A suit and tie are a safe bet.
It depends on the industry etc, but better to be a little over dressed then
arrive in shorts and a t-shirt! Women need to also wear a business suit,
or business dress. Don’t overdo the make up, don’t wear anything too
revealing (after all you want them to focus on you and not anything else!)
3. The most important point is to too clean and presentable, ensuing that
your clothes fit you well. Something too tight or too big will just not look
right no matter what brand it is!
4. Arrive early. There is no excuse for being late. Using Google maps you
can get the exact route you need to take, either by car, by public

8. transport or walking. Aim to arrive at the location at least 20 minutes
early. This gives you time to relax and compose yourself. Being late for
the interview will not give a good impression to the interviewer.
I suggest you arrive to the location 20 minutes early and present yourself
to reception 10 minutes before the interview time. Top tip – don’t go for a
coffee as if you are like me you are likely to spill on yourself or on any
papers you may have. Also don’t smoke before the interview!
5. Practice makes you better! You have to practice and do more
interviews to get better. You can engage in role play with a friend or a
business coach to help you practice your interview techniques. In fact I
have a book about job hunting available here and am also available to
conduct mock Skype interviews.
There is no such thing as a perfect interview as everyone is different,
however practice will always make you better.
6. See yourself. When doing a mock interview take a deep breath and
decide to record yourself. It is true that no one likes to see themselves
on video, however you will see any “challenges” you might have with
body language, any verbal mistakes you make, for example saying um a
lot! Yes this an be hard to do but it will really benefit you. You will also
be able to analyse how you answer questions.

9. At the interview
The number one question – “tell me about yourself”. Always an
interesting one and a tricky one. To be honest this is a conversation starter.
They don’t want to know about the time you won the egg and spoon race
when you were 7.
I recommend you prepare a 2 minute story and use that. For example. After
leaving school I went to XX university to study Economics as it was
something that always interested me. During that time I did my internship
with XX and then after completion of my degree I began working with YYY
company. I gained valuable experience there but decided after 2 years to
further my career by…
Think this through and make sure that you focus on some of your attributes,
your skills and how you can help the company. Be prepared for them to
interrupt you and ask a few questions.
Make sure what you say does not sound rehearsed as it should be as
natural as possible!
Know your strengths and weaknesses. One question you will always be
asked is what are your strengths and then what are your weaknesses. Be
modest when talking about your strengths as you need to portray that you
are capable of doing the job but don’t want to brag!
Talking about your weaknesses can be difficult, but interviewers want to see
if you can self analysis yourself. My suggestion is always to have a number
of weaknesses and then show how you improved on them.

10. For example “I used to find it quite difficult to organise paperwork after
training sessions” – here is your weakness (note the use of used to.
“However I talked to my manager at the time time and she gave me some
really easy and practical tips, which has made me more efficient.” – here we
have a solution.
Every weakness should start off “negative” and end with a positive solution.
Take your time. Don’t rush into answering questions. Ensure you
understand what is being asked, and if you are not sure ask them to clarify.
Always answer the question in a concise and easy to understand manner.
Avoid using complex words when a “normal” word will suffice
Thank the interviewer. No matter how the interview went always make sure
you thank them for their time and end on a positive note with them.
Remember they are probably tired from interviewing so many people so a
thank you can go along way!
In conclusion
There is no doubt about it going for an interview can be stressful. When you
are called to interview it means they are interested in finding out more about
you so you want to ensure that you sell yourself and show them why you are
right for the job.
It is all about what you say, how you say it and the impression you make.
Make sure you become an expert at interviews by practicing a lot and doing
your research.

11. For more information about job searching check out my kindle book on
amazon which covers the search, the cover letter, the resume and the
interview!
Richard is a trained life and business coach. You can find more information
about him at RichardButlerTheSuccessCoach.com He is also the author of
several books on Amazon Kindle, simply google 41 Lessons in Life to find is
life changing Kindle book.