'MyNetwork' to hold career fair at KICC

Are you looking for a job, an internship or a job change? Have you been struggling on how to update your resume or are you stuck at the many career options?

Have the changes in the job market proven hard to navigate? Yours truly, myNetwork has organised a career fair that gives you an opportunity to meet representatives from universities and tertiary institutions in an informal setting that will allow you to ask questions and most importantly, learn!

The career fair will be held tomorrow, Saturday 28th July, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) from 9am and will bring on board Kenya’s premier educational institutions and human resource practitioners.

Why should you attend a Career fair?

Career fairs are a valuable opportunity for you to network with potential employers, explore careers and courses, have your resumes reviewed, discover internships and job opportunities, and establish contacts.

To ensure that you use your time effectively at the career fair, consider the following guidelines:

Dress appropriately

You may have heard countless times that the first impression counts and this extends to career fairs. Although you are not assured of an interview, it is important to dress appropriately because a potential employer might decide to hire.

Be prepared

Do you have some questions you wish to ask the experts? Do you need some enlightenment about a particular career field? It is important that you note down the questions and research more about the field so that you ask relevant questions.

A sign of preparedness can put you in good books with the representatives present.

Note that different institutions of higher learning will be present, so ensure that you get all the information you need about courses you are interested in.

Bring many copies of your updated resume and academic transcripts

Career fairs give you an opportunity to interact with as many potential employers as you can. Tomorrow’s fair will see many human resource experts attend.

If you are looking for a specific job, say administrative assistant, you can tailor your resume to only include what is related to the job.

However, if you are not specific, include all work experiences and skills attained.

If you wish to further your education or enrol for a course, ensure that you carry along some academic papers to enable the representatives of the various institutions offer you guidance on the courses and registration.

Introduce yourself to potential employers and experts present

Career fairs attract thousands of students and job seekers.

Having interacted with many people, it is unlikely for a potential employer to remember your name or face after the fair. 

To stand out, do something differently. You can make personal or business cards to give out or say something unique about yourself.

Take notes

During career fairs, there is much to learn from experts in different fields and the representatives of various institutions. In such an informal setting, you are likely to learn some valuable tips and information that you might not get in a formal setting. It is therefore important to take notes for future reference.

Prioritise on the employers you would wish to work for

Career fairs attract many institutions.

Before attending, have a list of the institutions you would like to attend and prioritise on them. You want to maximise on the time you spend there and this is one of the best ways to do that.

Ask for the institutions’ registration forms

Collect as much information as you can on a particular institution of interest and while at it, request for registration forms.

After the fair, if you wish to enrol for a particular course, you will not need to visit the institution or their site.