Looking for a job, eh? Or perhaps you’re wanting to get a bit of advice from people who have been there and done that in your desired industry. Well, we advise you to get your backside along to a careers event. Not heard of a careers event before? Don’t worry, because we’re a helpful lot here at AllAboutCareers.com, we’ll explain what a careers event is, the different types of careers events and what you can expect to do at careers events. Strapped in and ready to go? Good, hold tight!
Types of Career Events
Careers events come in all shapes and sizes but they can be grouped into three main categories: career fairs, career seminars and employer presentations. They’re great for three specific reasons. You can meet employers, get top quality careers advice and maybe even find yourself a job or internship. “So, what happens at each careers event?”, I hear you ponder. Let us walk you through it…
Career Fairs
Career fairs are held at universities across the country and are usually focussed on a specific sector, be it engineering, finance, law etc. At career fairs, graduate employers set up a fancy looking stand and hand out A LOT of freebies. However, it’s important to look past the stationery and sweets, no matter how much you’re in dire need for a rubber tipped pencil. Rather you should seize the opportunity to speak to a number of employers, find out more about the sector and any opportunities that are open to you. For example, law fairs are attended by thousands of budding lawyers who are looking to secure that all important summer internship (officially called a vacation scheme).
Career Seminars
Career seminars, on the other hand, are organised and hosted by a university’s careers service that usually addresses a specific topic. For instance, CV workshops, a talk on using social media in your job search and a presentation on interviewing techniques would all fall under the category of career seminars. There may be guest speakers from a specific industry at these events too, and there is usually the chance to network with these speakers after the presentation, which could lead to an internship or work experience!
Employer Presentations
Finally, employer presentations are usually organised by the employer as opposed to the university careers service. This also means that these career events are held at the employer’s office, as opposed to the university itself. These events allow you to gain an insight into life as employee at a specific company and you could even find out what your dream graduate job would be. Attendance to these events looks very impressive on your CV, as you’ve taken the time to learn more about opportunities at a specific company and have networked with employees who currently work there.
So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself along to a careers event as soon as possible to learn more about the industry or sector you want to follow a career in, network with some industry professionals and land yourself a summer internship!