Haveo · Networking when you need a job
What to say at a career fair
Say who you are, what you are looking for, and one specific thing about them, in about twenty seconds. Then ask what they look for in someone in your position. Before you walk away, get a name and an email — a table with no name is a table you cannot follow up.
The twenty seconds
"Hi, I'm Sam — I'm finishing a computer science degree and looking for a junior backend role. I saw you moved your platform onto Go last year."
Three parts: who, what you want, one specific thing. The third part is what separates you from the hundred people who said the first two.
Get Haveo free on the App Store →
The question to ask
"What do you look for in someone applying at my level?" It is a question they know the answer to and like giving, and the answer tells you exactly how to write your application.
Avoid "what does your company do" — the answer is on the banner behind them, and asking it says you did not look.
Get Haveo free on the App Store →
Leave with a name
"Can I get your name and the best address to send my application to?" Then write both down before you reach the next table.
Without this, a career fair is an afternoon of conversations you cannot act on.
Get Haveo free on the App Store →
Plan which tables, and how many
Pick five before you go. Walking a whole hall means arriving at the tables you care about tired and out of sentences.
Do your worst-fit table first. The first conversation is always the roughest one and it is better spent on a company you do not want.
Get Haveo free on the App Store →
What to bring
A phone you can take notes on, and enough copies of a résumé for your five tables. Most recruiters will tell you to apply online anyway — the paper is a prompt for the conversation, not the application.
Get Haveo free on the App Store →
Rehearse it before you walk in.
Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.
Download Haveo — free