Prepare for the Career Day
The Career Day is not just about gathering information. You come into direct contact with potential employers. In order to stay in their minds, it makes sense to be prepared.
- What is your personal goal? Do you just want to look around? Are you looking for a specific type of job? Or do you want to apply specifically to a participating company? Prepare yourself for your visit to the career day according to your goal.
- Get to know the exhibitors and the programme. A wide range of companies from different sectors take part in the Career Day. Find out in advance who will be there and decide which stands you would like to visit. Many companies also offer lectures and presentations during the warm-up week and on Career Day.
- Make an appointment with your favourites. If you are particularly interested in a company, make an appointment in advance to visit their stand. You can do this easily via the company profile here on the website. By making an appointment, you can make sure that the contact person has time for you and send a signal that you are specifically interested in them. It also saves you from jumping in at the deep end on the Career Day and makes it easier to start the conversation.
- Prepare yourself for meeting the exhibitors. Even if you only want to find out about career opportunities and companies, think about what information you are interested in and what questions you would like to ask the company representatives. You should also expect counter-questions – so think about how you would like to present yourself. Who are you, what can you do and where do you want to go? The more concretely you can answer these questions, the more confident you will be.
- Bring your application documents along. If you are already looking for a job, it is best to bring your application documents with you. The extent to which you do this is up to you. Whether a complete application portfolio, an application flyer with the most important information or a simple business card with a link to your professional LinkedIn profile – choose what suits you best.
Are you still unsure whether your documents are professional and clearly laid out? We offer a free application documents check both during the warm-up week and on the career day. As a student or graduate of the University of Konstanz, you can also arrange an individual consultation with the Career Service or send us your documents by email and ask for feedback. - Make some notes. Plan some time between visiting company stands to write down information, impressions and contact details. This way you won’t forget any important information between all the interesting encounters, and once you have written down everything that is important, you can concentrate better on the next conversation. You can use a pen and paper, or the note-taking app on your mobile phone – or you can pick up your Welcome Bag at the Career Service stand, which, among other goodies, also contains several forms for your structured interview notes.
- Be open to the unexpected. Even if you are pursuing a specific goal with your visit – new and unexpected opportunities can always arise through personal conversations and contacts. Feel free to talk to companies that don’t have the right job advertised at the moment, but whose business you find interesting. If you are a good match, they will certainly remember you.
- Be yourself. Job interview situations put everyone under pressure. You want to present your best self to potential employers. But more important than being perfect is being authentic and feeling comfortable. There is no one right way to introduce yourself and apply to a company. So don’t put pressure on yourself to conform to an ideal, but find your own way that you feel comfortable with.
