Our Careers and Placements Fair is fast approaching on October 16th 11:00-15:00 (10:30-11:00 quiet time) in the Palmer Building. Our largest careers events of the year, it’s an amazing opportunity for you to network with employers and find out more about the graduate, internships and placement opportunities they have on offer. With this in mind, it’s important prepare yourself so you can go in feeling confident on the day.
Who can go to the Careers and Placements Fair?
The Career and Placements fair is open to anyone regardless of your level of study or discipline. Whether you’re a first year wanting to find careers inspiration, second year interested in pursuing placements or final year looking for graduate opportunities, there’s something for you.
Who will be attending the Careers and Placements Fair?
Over 80 employers ranging from SMEs to large corporations will be attending including Adobe, Crowdstrike and Henkel. You can find the full list of employers along with a map and which disciplines they’ll be interested in on MyJobsOnline.
Don’t worry if you think your course is too niche for certain employers; 38 of them will be recruiting opportunities regardless of discipline and an additional 30 across multiple disciplines (remember the employment world isn’t divided by discipline). Other opportunities employers will advertise at the Careers and Placements Fair include:
- 5 will have international opportunities
- 35 offer one-year placements
- 22 offer summer placements
- 5 have part-time opportunities
As for the type people you’ll be speaking with at the Careers and Placement Fair, they will include:
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- Graduate recruitment team
- Trainees
- Managers from the recruiting department
- University of Reading Alumni who work at the company/studied degrees
Our Careers Expert Bar will be open where our Careers Consultants will offer students advice and guidance whether it’s CV checks, application reviews or discussing the careers you can pursue with your degree.
Our quiet time is 10:30-11:00 and is made for students who want a less busy and more physical space i.e. disabled, with anxiety, before the fair starts.
If you need further assistance or support during the Careers and Placements Fair, our careers team will be around to help throughout the day. We will also have a quiet area set up so you have a chance to take a break.
How should I prepare for the Careers and Placements Fair?
- Think about who you’re speaking to. For example, if you’re interested in international opportunities, ask about visas.
- Stay focused. Employers like it when you stay engaged, so don’t wander off or lose interest in the middle of a conversation. Every detail is important and it could help you when you start job hunting.
- Keep it cool. The Careers and Placements Fair is an informal event and no job offers will be made on the day, so employers will understand if you’ve come straight from a lecture.
Top Tips
- Make a plan. Think about what you want to achieve from attending the Careers and Placements Fair, which employers you want to speak with and the kind of questions you want to ask. It’s also great to do your research on the companies you’re interested including:
- Company website
- Glassdoor
- Rate My Placement
- Make a good impression. Related to the above tip, make sure your questions are well-prepared and you know how to introduce yourself to employers (it’s sometimes good to practise with an employer you’re not be interested in). For example:
- SAY: ‘Hello, my name is Alex. I’m a second year student studying architecture interested in year-long placements.’
- DON’T ASK: ‘what does your company do?’
- DO ASK: ‘What are career paths for new hires in the first few years?’, ‘What skills does your company value the most?’ or ‘ I read about project XYZ.’
- Follow up. Collect business cards, get names down, send thank you emails and connect with employees on LinkedIn. They’ll be sure come in handy by the time you start your job hunt.
We look forward to seeing you next week!
Look out for our other exciting careers fairs coming up this year including our Built Environment Fair and Law Fair.
Author: Mica Blackwell, Careers Information and Engagement Assistant