Ask an Employment Specialist: Calling Cards

Dear Joanna,

I’m going to a career and job fair next week. It promises to be a fantastic event with lots of employers looking to hire.

I am an experienced building maintenance manager with over 10 years experience in managing the operations of different properties for a mid-sized company. I was laid off a couple of months ago, due to budget cuts. I’m looking forward to this job fair to network and apply for work with potential businesses in my field. I have a professional resume, cover letter, an “interview” suit and tie, and a LinkedIn profile, as well.

Is there anything else you can recommend that I take with me to the job fair?

Signed: Building my Career at the Fair (BCF)

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Dear BCF,

I am so impressed with how prepared, professional and motivated you are to network, apply for work and take advantage of every possible opportunity to secure employment in your field! Kudos to you and all your self-marketing in this competitive working world.

For tips for attending job fairs, make sure to read our blog post titled Making Job Fairs work for you — tips for making the best of a great opportunity. One of the most useful tools recommended by our JVS Toronto Employment Counsellors is to create Calling Cards, as a way to network and enhance your brand in the labour market.

A calling card is a personal business card that can be used by anyone, in any profession or trade. It can include the best (and most relevant) of the following information:

• your personal identifying information, including possibly your name, email address, phone number (preferably a cell phone) and LinkedIn
• the job title/position you desire
• a professional profile, which can include your experience, licenses, certification, special training and equipment
• your professional and/or transferable/personal management skills
  

A calling card is a portable marketing tool that allows you to leave information with people who may be in a position to use your services or become useful clients, customers or contacts. It allows you to be ready for the times when you did not expect to meet a potential contact, when you do not have your resume with you, or when a resume would not be appropriate. People will accept a card under almost any circumstances, whereas they may not accept your resume. With the card, the recipient gets the correct information from you in a concise, professional format, which will help them remember you later or to pass on the information to someone else.

Besides networking, you may use a calling card to attach to an application form to set you apart from other candidates. It can also be attached to a thank you letter after an interview as a reminder of your skills, or to a cover letter to introduce yourself. You can post it on a bulletin boards to market your services, encourage people to give you job leads, summarize your skills for your references or even give them out to businesses you may spot in passing. The cards also could serve to remind others how to pronounce or spell your name.

You can make your own calling cards inexpensively, using a publishing program, or even regular word-processing software, such as Microsoft Word (in the Tools menu, choose the Envelopes and Labels command.) You can buy the card stock at a stationery store and print your cards off on your printer. There are some cheap online sites such as VistaPrint which will print a batch of cards for a low fee.

Here is a sample calling card:

For more strategies to make the most of this opportunity, have a look at our blog The Dance of the Jobseeker – Doing the Cha-Cha at a Job Fair.

Good luck with the job fair. I hope you meet your next employer!

Signed,

Joanna

To submit your questions for this column IN CONFIDENCE, please email dearjoanna@jvstoronto.org.

The Dance of the Jobseeker – Doing the Cha-Cha at a Job Fair

Dancing at a job fair? How so? Read on, Macduff.

Well Fall is upon us and that means job fairs are starting to pop up. Is your dance card ready? Have you selected your partners or will you remain on the wall?

In the next few weeks the bigger fairs (National Job Fair, City Career Expo, NAPP Canada and Canada Job Expo) will be held at different locations across the Greater Toronto Area. Each event has strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to dance partners. The trick is to find the ones that cha-cha to the same beat as you and to learn a few tango steps so you hold your own with an unknown partner.

So, you have done all of your preparation as mentioned our earlier blog - Making Job Fairs work for you — tips for making the best of a great opportunity. You’re dressed the part, resume in hand and pitch in memory. You get up to the employer, give it your all only to be told “Please apply online”. What?????

I have witnessed this employer trend of deflection a couple of times over the last few years at different job fairs. I’m hoping that it is a practice limited to few employers. You can see the defeat and frustration in the eyes of the job seeker as they walk away. They have made the effort to be at the job fair, prepared their resume, researched the company and dressed the part only to be told they could have done this from home. It sucks royally. But if you watched and saw this before you interact with the employer you can change your approach giving you a better result.

I have been consistently attending these job fairs in different roles (Job Developer, Recruiter and job seeker) over the last 5 years. I go to these fairs to network with employers, gather sector information and see current trends. But, the most important thing I do is watch and listen:

I watch how job seekers interact with employers.

I watch how employers interact with job seekers.

I watch for the booths that have the most traffic.

I listen to what the job seekers say to the employers.

I listen to how the employers respond to the job seekers.

You can gather so much information by taking a few minutes to scout out the booths that you have already decided on visiting. By watching how the two parties (job seeker and employer) dance you can plan on how you will present yourself. It’s almost like watching nature program on National Geographic. I can hear the narrator now – “See the job seeker approach the employer in the nest. The job seeker, resplendent in his vivid colours of the hiring season, seeks to get the attention of the employer. With resume in hand, the job seeker makes eye contact, proceeds with his elevator speech hoping to be invited into the nest. But what’s this? The employer has asked for the job seeker to just apply online. The job seeker is stunned and doesn’t know how to react. He nods his head and then backs away.” All kidding aside, it is a dance of the fittest.

I understand why employers ask for applicants to apply online, as it is easier to review information keyed into their own database and it saves them time from having their own staff do it. I do think, though, that if that is the case, then they should do us all a favour and not book a booth. But, I’ve seen only a few employers doing this, so I don’t believe that job seekers should be discouraged. There are several fantastic employers at these fairs that take the time to chat with you, give advice and are genuinely interested in hearing what you have to say. Having this knowledge before you make your pitch allows you to pick the song you want to dance to and you get to lead.

But, what if you find that your employer of choice is deflecting job seekers to their website?  Time to tango. You should still approach the employer, as you can still gather some valuable information. You know you will have to apply online so handing in your resume is kind of useless; instead, ask a few questions that may help get your resume noticed or, at least, directed to the right person.

• “I’m interested in the ABC area of your company. Is there someone you can refer me to in that department that I can talk to about specific roles?”
• “I understand from the information I have found online that your company does XYZ role but I don’t see any current opportunities for it. Do you know if any will be coming up? Is there someone I can talk to in that area about future opportunities?”
• “I  have noticed that you are asking job seekers to apply online instead of taking resumes. Once I apply, is there someone I can follow-up with to make sure my resume is received?”
• “I saw your profile on LinkedIn. Do you recruit for all areas of the company? Who recruits for the ABC area of your company? Can you refer me to them? Can I send you an invite to connect on LinkedIn? ” (This one is really slick but takes some confidence and heavy prep before the job fair. Check out the company on LinkedIn before and look up the employees listed under HR, Recruiter, Talent job titles. Make a list of them and check it out before you approach the booth. When you introduce yourself they will most likely give their name. If it is one on your list then go into the above question. Not only could you get some good information you may also net yourself a LinkedIn connection).

So, it’s your choice if you want to be on TV on Dancing with the Stars, or stuck in your high school gym by yourself, listening to Stairway to Heaven.  Taking the time to understand how your targeted employer is recruiting increases your odds of making a good impression. Look at it this way – an employer wouldn’t waste their money on a booth if they didn’t have jobs, so the jobs are there. You need to show that you are a great candidate for current or future positions. By showing that you are prepared for their  deflection, you can show yourself to look like a stronger candidate. Making a possible inside connection gives you a definite advantage over folks who are simply applying online.

Now, if dancing isn’t your thing, then be the disc jockey and decide what song will be played.

I hope this information helps you in some way. Good luck in your job search.

Chris

For a schedule of the larger fairs, I check out TorontoJobs.ca

Making Job Fairs work for you — tips for making the best of a great opportunity

In this online age, when it seems so easy to job search and even network on the Internet, it is rare to have an opportunity to meet a potential employer face-to-face. Job Fairs are a one of those few occasions when employers make themselves available to meet, greet, answer questions and develop an impression of a job searcher that goes beyond simple words on a resume. A number of such opportunities are coming up in Toronto over the next few months, including The City Career Expo on June 25th 2011, The Canada Job Expo on July 6th 2011 and The National Job Fair, which takes place in September 27-28 2011. Each of these is an excellent opportunity to get yourself noticed and possibly even hired.

As exciting as these opportunities may be, they can also be quite unnerving. But as the expression goes, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. So, instead of just hoping to be lucky, here are some tips to prepare for the job fair and make the most of this opportunity:

 

• Read through information you have about the Fair, especially noting the names of interesting employers and gathering information about them from the Internet. Plan your visit by deciding who you will be seeking out first, though it would be good to meet as many employers as possible.
• Write out a script that briefly outlines what you would like to tell employers about yourself, including your background (experience, education), skills, accomplishments and career goals. Practice until you have it memorised and sounding natural. Think of examples to illustrate your strengths, which you could share if asked.
• Make sure to have your resume and LinkedIn profile updated, complete and professional.
• Bring a well organised binder that includes multiple copies of your resume, as well as writing paper, a pen and your appointment calendar/smartphone.
• You may also want to consider preparing and bringing calling cards, which include your name, email, phone number, your LinkedIn profile address and a few brief lines listing the best and most relevant of your skills.
• Another item worth bringing is a portfolio-type folder which includes samples of your work, letters of recommendation and thanks from employers and customers, your reference list (which you will not give an employer unless they express interest in considering you for a position) and anything else you could show to an interested employer (Some people even bring mini portfolios which they could leave with employers).

On the day, dress as you would for a job interview and make a point to arrive early. Switch off your cell phone as you go in. Approach employers confidently — make eye contact, smile, shake hands and express an interest in what they do. Be patient and persistent, and prepared to answer questions and make conversation. Collect business cards and offer to stay in contact.

After the event, send thank you letters to those employers who met with you and expressed an interest. This will reinforce the positive impression you made at the Fair.

As with all aspects of the job search process, some preparation and effort might go a long way toward improving your luck. Contacts made at a Job Fair might present you with the opportunities necessary to widen your professional network, raise your profile and perhaps even change your future.