All aboard the milkround!

It is late September, the weather is particularly miserable and the fun and games that is Fresher's Week will soon be just a distant memory. But while the excitement of a new academic year fades away as lectures, labs and coursework kick in, coming up fast on the horizon is milkround season. Whether it be in recruitment fairs, employer presentations or guest appearances in lectures, recruiters are coming to campus on a mission to identify fresh talent to fill their placement and graduate schemes.

Click here for a comprehensive list of recruitment fairs on the Prospects website

While opportunities to interact with recruiters through social media channels are increasing, the chance to impress in person are much more limited, which means that making a strong and positive first impression is paramount. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for how students should approach recruitment fairs.

Guess what? Preparation!

I suspect that I may end up sounding like a broken record, but just as I would encourage my students to prepare for interviews or assessment centres, so too should they do some homework before a fair. If you head into a packed, noisy venue, without any sort of plan of action it can be a bit slightly intimidating environment. There may be 70+ stands covering a broad range of employers and once you step into the room you may ask yourself 'Where do I begin?' The chances are your careers service will publish an attendee list prior to the event, so track that down and make yourself a shortlist of the people you want to talk to. This will also help you when working on the next suggestion.

Check out the schemes on offer before the event

If you want to have a meaningful conversation with a recruiter, it probably should not start with a question that is easily answered on Google. Don't fall into the trap of trawling for really basic information like 'Do you offer an IT Grad scheme?' or 'Does your company have business placements?' Find this out beforehand by doing a little research on the web and go armed with some knowledge when you walk into the event. Then when you start your conversation with recruiters you can begin with 'I was reading about the ABC scheme on your website and would like to find out a bit more about 123'. Pretty basic stuff but it demonstrates from the off that you have an interest in that employer and have already taken the time to look into what they offer.

Be ready to hand over your details

Employers aren't just coming to your university to raise awareness of their brand and recruitment schemes. They will be looking to sign up students to mailing lists so that further information about their opportunities can be circulated. You would think that writing down an email address would be a simple task, but there are pitfall to avoids. Firstly, if the employer is using the tried and trusted paper and pen to gather their data (rather than the very nifty OCP Mobile Data Capture App) make sure that you take the time to write your details down in a clear and legible fashion. You could have a great interaction with an employer but if you scribble down your email in a way they can't read, they will not be able to follow this up with you. Think carefully about the email address you give them too. Stick to something plain and professional sounding like firstname.lastname@gmail.com rather than anything more eccentric.

Do I take my CV with me?

I'm not someone who subscribes to the idea of printing off dozens of copies of your CV to hand out at a recruitment fair. For a start, the document is not going to be tailored towards a particular role or company, but also you are not going to bypass recruitment stages in doing so and you'll still need to apply electronically. If you are determined to hand over your resume, at the very least make sure you go to see a Careers Advisor prior to the event to get it checked out. Nothing hits a dustbin quicker than a poorly written CV strewn with spelling and grammatical errors.

Personally, if I was wanting to give an employer something to remember me by at a fair, I'd be more inclined to go armed with personalised business cards rather than a paper CV. They needn't be anything particularly fancy or expensive (Moo offer student discount) but something that contains your name, contact details and LinkedIn address would do very nicely.

Build upon that initial contact

If all goes well at a Fair and you've had a good interaction with a recruiter, be proactive in following up on it. You can do this by sending an email, but bear in mind that the recruiter may have talked to several hundred people on the same day as you and without a face to go with your name they may struggle to remember you.  However, if you connect with them via LinkedIn, not only will they be able to recognise you from that initial conversation, but they will also be able to view your profile to find out more about you and your past experience.

What about the Freebies?

When I was toying with the idea for this article, one of my followers posed this question to me. 'Do you give tips on getting the best freebies off the table without making eye contact with the employer?' This was said to me in jest but nevertheless raises an important point. Companies may well bring promotional items with them, but the purpose of attending recruitment fairs is to network with employers and put yourself on their radar. The most important freebie you can take is the business card of the recruiter. Tins of mints or branded biros are secondary.

While the milkround will not directly present students with a position on a placement or graduate scheme, it provides an opening to engage with the people whose job it is to supply employers with student hires. If you are serious about getting recruited in the class of 2013, head along to recruitment fairs and employer events this autumn to put yourself in the shop window.