BY Cassandra Isidoro
Looking for a job in career fairs can be intimidating if students have no social skills.
Being able to cooperate with others, having enthusiasm and communication skills is important when looking for a job.
Employers are looking for both cognitive and social skills. The combination of technical and interpersonal skills are what employers need.
Environments such as career fairs in colleges can affect a student’s behavior. It can also result in extreme stress.
Even as a journalism student, I was afraid of talking to people at first, but with practice outreaching to students and school administrators, I acquired social skills.
Career fairs can make a student feel excluded from activities, such as applying for a job opening or approaching an employer at the booth.
Even though students of all educational backgrounds are encouraged to participate in career fairs, students sometimes approach this in the wrong way.
It is hard for students with introverted personalities to feel comfortable networking.
Preparing a cover letter and résumé are good ways to attract the attention of employers and to land a job.
The most powerful tool for students when it comes to getting a job is networking.
Students who are shy usually withdraw from interacting with new people because they find it difficult to communicate and fit in.
Career fairs can help students network, make positive first impressions, but for others it can be a waste of time.
If students find it difficult to meet and interact with employers, companies will move on with other candidates who seem more polished.
Employers are looking for potential candidates who can get involved in teamwork as a key for the company’s success.
The school should offer programs where students can develop strategies in social skills, such as negotiating and cooperating with others in the world of work.
If community colleges prepare students for acquiring technical skills, then the school should also offer workshops on how the workforce is changing versus hosting career fairs.
According to research studies from Harvard University, the periods from 1980-2012 show the growing importance of social skills in the workforce.
Students should adopt another way of networking with professionals at career fairs to gain employment.
This could be done by offering workshops that would help students to be more outgoing and to overcome the terror of talking to professionals.
Students should never give up and disqualify themselves from a job opportunity that could improve their potential.
It is very important to network as well as to have discipline when looking for a job.
Networking can help a student land a job or a significant promotion.
Taking advantage of the services that Career and Job Services provides to students could make the process of finding a job at career fairs less intimidating.
Students should revise frequently some of the workshops that Career and Job Services offer to students, such as interviewing skills, choosing a major and finding a job .