{"id":291,"date":"2025-04-11T23:17:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T23:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/?p=291"},"modified":"2025-04-14T05:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T05:15:17","slug":"career-fair-conversation-starters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/2025\/04\/11\/career-fair-conversation-starters\/","title":{"rendered":"Career fair conversation starters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our best tips for how to strike up a conversation at any networking event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/5894\/files\/2025\/04\/Benny_CareerFair1_1000px.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/5894\/files\/2025\/04\/Benny_CareerFair1_1000px.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/5894\/files\/2025\/04\/Benny_CareerFair1_1000px-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/5894\/files\/2025\/04\/Benny_CareerFair1_1000px-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Benny the Beaver is GREAT at networking at career fairs!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Career fairs are a great chance to make a good first impression on potential employers &#8212; they&#8217;re looking for potential new hires or interns, and you&#8217;re looking for companies you want to work for. The But what if you get nervous at a crucial moment and don&#8217;t know what to say? We&#8217;ve got you covered! Here are some lines you can use at your next career fair or other networking event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Short &amp; simple convo starters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It&#8217;s classic for a reason: say hello, then share your name and what you&#8217;re studying. &#8220;Hi there! I&#8217;m Aiden, and I&#8217;m studying Spanish and Business Administration.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask about the other person: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How is your day going today? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have you been to one of OSU&#8217;s career fairs before?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask about something on the booth or table: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do you mind if I grab one of these flyers? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I love these giveaway items you have!&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask about their organization: &#8220;Could you tell me more about (Name of _____)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions about the company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What kinds of roles are you looking to fill?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What stands out to you with new hires coming out of college?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are some things your team is working on right now?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions about the other person<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What do you like about working at ____?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How did you get started in this industry?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What advice would you have for someone just starting out in this field?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exit strategies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you&#8217;re ready to say goodbye and need a graceful way to end the conversation, try these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Thanks for taking the time to talk to me! Have a good rest of your day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you have any business cards I could take with me?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thanks for all the info! I hope the rest of the career fair goes well for you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(If you brought resumes with you) Do you mind if I drop a resume off with you? I&#8217;d love to hear about any openings if they would be a good fit for me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">All about you: The Elevator Pitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have time to practice a bit before a career fair or networking event, spend a little time polishing a short statement that tells people who you are and what you&#8217;re looking for. People call this the Elevator Pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic formula is: Who you are + what makes you stand out + what you want to achieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your elevator pitch should be no more than 30-60 seconds; something you can easily remember and feel comfortable saying when  you are introducing yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Start with the basics. &#8220;Hi, my name is Sam, and I&#8217;m studying graphic design.&#8221; &#8220;I&#8217;m Mariana, and working on a degree in computer science.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add a little bit more about yourself and your interests. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is there anything you&#8217;ve done in college or in work that has stood out for you? &#8220;I&#8217;m taking a course in branding right now, and I&#8217;m finding out that I really love the strategic side of design work.&#8221; Or &#8220;I have been able to take part in undergraduate research through the URSA program at OSU, and I think I really want to pursue something that lets me do more research.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then add a little more about what you&#8217;re interested in: &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping to find a summer internship,&#8221; or &#8220;I&#8217;m still trying to figure out what I really want to do after college.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/career.oregonstate.edu\/sites\/career.oregonstate.edu\/files\/2024-12\/networking_overview.pdf\">elevator pitches<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/career.oregonstate.edu\/interviews-networking\/networking-linkedin\">networking strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find out about <a href=\"http:\/\/career.oregonstate.edu\/career-fairs\">Oregon State&#8217;s upcoming career fairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our best tips for how to strike up a conversation at any networking event Career fairs are a great chance to make a good first impression on potential employers &#8212; they&#8217;re looking for potential new hires or interns, and you&#8217;re looking for companies you want to work for. The But what if you get nervous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[16,26],"class_list":["post-291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-fair","tag-career-fair","tag-tips-and-tricks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":295,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions\/295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}