Speaker 1: The following video shows two examples of a student speaking with a recruiter at a career fair. The first example shows what not to do, with commentary about what the recruiter and student were thinking during the interaction, followed by the second example, which shows a good interaction between the student and recruiter.

Speaker 2: Oh no, what did I get myself into? So many people in here. I don't even know where to start. This room is so loud, how can I have like conversation with recruiters when it's really hard to hear them? No one's going to want to hire me? This was a mistake.

Speaker 3: Oh man, this line is so long. I'm tired already and I've only been here for a few minutes. When is my colleague going to come and help me manage this line? What is this person talking about? Blah, blah, blah. If you're not going to say anything meaningful, just stop talking so I can get on to the next person.

Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Siska Widuri. I'm a first year CMBLS student and I have a previous experience with Agmiplastic as an operation facility assistant. I'm currently looking for a summer internship. Do you have any spots available and do you sponsor international students?

Speaker 3: We'll consider sponsoring the right candidate and we do have summer internships in logistics. Essentially those positions are posted on our website. Have you gotten a chance to look at those positions already?

Speaker 2: No. Okay.

Speaker 3: Essentially, what we're trying to do is improve the amount of time from when an order is placed to when it's delivered. We're a global company, so we're focusing primarily on international shipments. Can you tell me a little bit why you're even interested in logistics?

Speaker 2: Well, I'm a really detail-oriented person and also really good with numbers. Can I leave my resume with you?

Speaker 3: You know, I actually can't take your resume today, but what you can do is you can go on to our website and you can submit it online for a position that you're interested in.

Speaker 2: Okay. Thanks. Yeah.

Speaker 3: You know, I really wanted to get to know this student, but it seemed like all she was interested in was running through her resume. My elevator speech, it was super, super rushed, and not only was it super rushed, but it was obviously over-rehearsed. I just wanted to have a conversation with her, but I couldn't. The whole interaction was just so awkward. She didn't want to tell me anything about her or any of her skills that she could bring to my company. She obviously didn't do any sort of research. She knew nothing about my company. She hadn't even been to the website and looked at the positions yet. The bottom line is, she wouldn't look at me in the eye. She spoke super, super soft. She just wasn't a very good fit, I didn't feel. I can sum up kind of the entire interaction in one word, and she was just really forgettable.

Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning. I didn't have anything to say to him, so, duh, I didn't ask him anything. I felt really rushed because everyone in line was waiting for me, and I kind of feel his rushing to, like, through his explanation about the company and the position, like, how am I supposed to know about that? I actually saw other students talking to the recruiters and laughing. Does anyone else know how to do this naturally except for me? He even looked at me funny. Was my English really that bad? Everyone in line was my friend, so I kind of hate competing with them for the job. There's got to be some way better to do this.

Speaker 1: The student made several mistakes in her interaction with the recruiter. She made a bad first impression because she lacked confidence and excitement in her voice. She slouched instead of standing straight and tall. It was also difficult to hear her, and she didn't look the recruiter in the eye the whole time. She wasn't prepared for the conversation either. She didn't research the company and the positions ahead of time. She also recited all of her experience at once in a monologue instead of having a two-way conversation with the recruiter. She mentioned a few general skills she had instead of being specific, and she didn't give examples of how her past experiences connected with the position. The student also asked poor questions during the conversation. She asked closed-ended questions that could only be answered with yes or no instead of asking open-ended questions to keep the conversation going. The student brought up the subject of sponsorship instead of waiting for the recruiter to ask about this. At the end of the conversation, she left quickly without finding out how to follow up with the recruiter. Hi.

Speaker 2: Hi. Hi. I'm Cisco Iduri. Nice to meet you today. Nice to meet you. How are you?

Speaker 3: I'm great. Thank you for asking. It's been a great day. It's been a great day. There's a lot of students here who seem to be interested in our open positions.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I really appreciate your time, and I'm really excited to see you today. I'm a first-year MBLA student, and I had a previous experience in logistics. It was for Acme Plastics. I was an operation facility assistant, and I actually pursued logistics because I do enjoy analyzing processes and developing ways to get a more efficient way around those processes. Perfect. I'm currently looking for an internship for this summer, so I did dig a little about your company and the position for that supply chain process improvement, but I do have several questions to ask.

Speaker 3: Sure.

Speaker 2: What questions do you have? Well, I got a little sense of what kind of skill I would develop, but could you explain more about what kind of projects I'll be involved in?

Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. Particularly this summer, what we're focusing on is we're trying to shorten the amount of time from when an order is placed to when it's delivered. We're a global company, so our primary focus is going to actually be on the international shipments.

Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. That sounds interesting. Well, in my previous experience, I do have a little bit of that. I did determine the root cause of inefficiencies, but I haven't had any chance to actually put that into plan or implementing that plan. Is there any additional training for internship to develop that skill?

Speaker 3: Yeah. One of the great things about being an intern is you actually get to participate in our monthly professional workshops. Typically, our workshops are focused on things like professional communication, leadership development. You even get an opportunity to work with the new software that we're actually implementing at the company.

Speaker 2: Wow. That's a really interesting experience for me as an intern. Can I leave my resume with you today?

Speaker 3: No, I actually can't take your resume today, but what you can do is you can just go onto our website and you can submit it to one of the positions that you're interested in applying

Speaker 2: for. Oh, wow. Yes. That sounds really good. That sounds perfect. Can I have your business card in case I have further questions to ask in the future?

Speaker 3: Yeah, of course. Please contact me anytime with any questions.

Speaker 2: Yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much again for your time. I will definitely follow up with you. Well, have a great rest of the day. Nice meeting you. Thank you.

Speaker 1: Bye. Thanks. The student made several changes that made her interaction more effective with the recruiter. She made a good first impression by confidently standing tall, greeting the recruiter, looking him in the eye, shaking his hand, smiling, and speaking loudly and clearly. The student was much more prepared for the conversation because she researched the company and knew about the open positions. She talked about specific skills she had instead of general skills, and she explained how her skills and past experiences connected to the position. She also kept the conversation going instead of reciting all of her experience at once like a prerecorded script. The student asked good questions, too. She asked open-ended questions, and she didn't ask a closed-ended question about whether the company provides sponsorship or not. When speaking with a recruiter, don't assume that he or she knows everything about sponsorship. Wait to see if the opportunity to discuss the topic naturally presents itself, and be prepared to discuss the specifics of your personal work authorization and what sponsorship entails for both students and companies. Finally, the student asked for a business card and determined how to follow up with any future questions. Thank you for watching this video about speaking with recruiters at a career fair. Please contact the Office of Career Management with any additional questions.