Winning a Job Fair Game (Part I)

Today, I accompanied my senior in a job fair as a committee in the company booth. The booth was simple, consisted of a small table and two chairs. Nothing special and "next-door-companies" seemed more interesting in their special-decorated booths. I didn't expect much, I just followed the instructions as an obedient junior (well, actually, I'm quite stubborn when it's about something I've fully understood. In this case, I had tendency to be more cooperative. Yep, learning mode is started.) Thus, I didn't anticipate a "storm" of people rushing in our booth, yet imagined a peaceful sitting moment, talking politely with the candidates who wanted to drop their Curriculum Vitae (CV)s.

But, I was wrong...

Soon after the job fair started, people were starting to flow in the hall. The room had been cool enough before, but the air turned hotter, fuller, and I couldn't help but taking deep breathe every now and then. Freshgraduates of bachelor and diploma programs were asking these classic questions over and over and over and over...

     "What are the vacancy?"
     "Where do I drop the CV?"
     "What can I do with my degree?"
     "Where will the job be done?"
     "How do you inform the chosen applicants?'
etc.

My senior and I were struggled answering these questions for about six hours, from standing straight until bending on the chair in the end. Well, the ratio of committee and the candidate wasn't fair. If we count candidates that asked about the vacancy and dropped the CV by the amount of  flyers out, we will have a fix amount, seven hundred applicants versus two committees. You can imagine it, don't you?

When CVs were already over the tip of the box, my senior started to sort everything out. I didn't give an interest at first, but looking at a high pile of papers next to his feet made me think. In which side were them? Rejected or Accepted? Considered?

And the answer was REJECTED

Skimming their CVs, I was curious about why do the company reject them. Some had good GPA, some were graduated from well-known universities, some had various experiences, and some seemed to study badly. But, looking at how they make effort in their CV and they ended up in a trashbin were pretty terrifying view for me.

Why do they fail in the first stage a.k.a administration sorting?

Administration sorting is a rapid process. The company skims the CV less than a minute and decides whether to give it a try or not. It's quite tricky, especially in how you organize your CV. Some CVs were too short, while some too long. The main problem is in how to highlight your BEST features in effective and efficient way. CVs should deliver all of your best features clearly without too much "preservations" that will ruin its "taste". For example, you're applying in a Marketing Planning and Analyst position. The main features that will be sorted in administration stage are GPA, UNIVERSITY, and YOUR DEGREE. Every company has their own standard, but the musketeers are the general standard. So, I will give you the examples of CVs that are constantly rejected, to give you some idea.

1. You apply for Marketing Planning and Analyst, but your major was Civil Engineering. Well, the unmatch education will hesitate the company to continue your application. Moreover, applying in a position that "faraway" from your recent education may give a sign that you are desperate or misunderstanding the job description. Thus, it will not make a good impression.
2. The GPA. Yes. Most of the CV attached the education transcript showing the GPA. Some of them were impressive, Summa Cumlaudes. Otherwise, if you cannot impress the company with your GPA, you will try to hide it under your experiences. Well... Nice try, but GPA is the easiest way to measure how you work to achieve high, You study with bad GPA, why should the company expect you to be good in work? Some cases are apologized, but the majority of company still use GPA as their standard.
3. The university matters, too. Some company has set their university passing grades. For example, Z Company will always accept applicants from A, B, and C Universities. If an applicant from Y University apply for a position, no matter how cool he is, Z Company will instantly put it in the garbage side.

Nah, how to avoid dropping your CV in "wrong" company? Dropping your CV randomly in  Job Fair will lessen the chance you will be accepted. Selecting the most appropriate company that fit your degree and interest help you to be more considered by the company. First, you match the eligibility of the applicants. Second, you will make the company work efficiently. If the company sorts each CV in a minute and the ratio of failure is higher than 50%, then the time wasted in the whole stage is more than 50%. Unfortunately, you will receive the "good news" longer because of the inefficiency in shortlisting the candidates.

Nah, this is the Part I of Winning a Job Fair Game. I can't wait to write the part II, hoping there will be some good advices I can share from the company's view. Hope it help. Good luck.

XOXO,

Elizabeth