Are you getting the most out of employer tech talks?
21st Oct 2019
Are you getting the most out of attending an Employer Talk
As a student, you will be given numerous opportunities to attend employer talks whilst you are at University. These are excellent opportunities to get your foot in the door and get yourself noticed for all the right reasons.
If you have signed up to attend one of these talks then we can assume that you are interested in learning more about working for that employer. So make sure that you show them that.
Do your research!
You can bet on the Employer asking – does anyone know what we do? Impress them by being able to answer that question! You will generally know which employer is speaking before you attend a talk so look them up online and learn what you can about them before you go along.
Engage and look interested
Make eye contact with the speaker, nod and smile and look interested in what they are saying, laugh at jokes if they make any. Do not check your phone while they are speaking or keep looking at the clock, but do feel free to take notes!
Ask questions
No employer covers everything during their presentation and you should try to get yourself noticed by asking intelligent questions for example, you could ask questions about staff turn over or application deadlines. This will give you an opportunity to informally introduce yourself to the employer:
“Hi I am Joe Bloggs, I am a third year studying Computer Science, I would like to ask the following…”
Example questions:
- Does the company have a high staff turnover?
- What are the application deadlines for placement opportunities?
- What do you look for in a CV?
- What would you expect to be in a cover letter?
- Are there specific skills you look for when deciding who to interview?
- Why did you apply to work with the company?
- What do you think is the best thing about working for the company?
Remember if you do apply to an employer after you have attended a talk, make sure you mention that in your cover letter,
For example
“I met you at the Employer talk on the 2nd of September”
It is important that you take every opportunity you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd