Make the most of Career Fair

Career planning and advice

Your career is your number 1 asset and it influences many other aspects of your life. It’s never too soon to prioritise career planning, as this can provide you with direction and a game plan for your study years. Beginning early will also enable you to make the most of the many opportunities university will offer you to create the career you really want. Career support is an investment in your future, one that can pay dividends over your entire working life. 

UniSQ Careers and Employability offer one-on-one career planning sessions. Find out more about the available appointments.   

Understand the types of opportunities available 

• Work experience
  The work experience opportunities available to you may depend on your program of study and availability. For work experience that isn't a component of your studies, you may like to investigate formal work experience programs offered by organisations. 
  
  
• Internships 
  Internships are on-the-job work experience opportunities related to your study/interest area. Internships can be paid or unpaid and are generally short term but can last for a single week to a full year. According to National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) an internship is “a carefully monitored work or volunteer experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience”.
  
  
• Graduate jobs
  Graduate jobs (also known as entry-level jobs) require a qualification, and a specific set of skills and knowledge. Graduate jobs can be great to get your foot in the door within your chosen industry and provide you with experiences and opportunities to develop your skills and expertise.
  
  
• Graduate programs 
  If you would like more structure to your new role and more formal on-the-job training and development, graduate programs are offered by a number of organisations each year. These positions are highly sought after and recruitment can commence up to ten months before hand, so you need to be prepared and apply early. Most graduate programs have one key recruitment period per year, some with applications closing as early as April. Some companies however have rolling intakes throughout the year. You may wish to monitor these through sites like UniSQ Access, Graduate Opportunities or GradConnection.

Every organisation is different in terms of their values, opportunities, and team culture. Do your research and identify organisations that will fit you. Many organisations now look for a ‘cultural fit’, this is how an individual’s attitudes, values and beliefs are in line with core values and culture of an organisation.  

Shortlist organisations to chat to at the Fair

To make the most of Career Fair, we suggest you go through the list of employers attending. This will enable you to shortlist the companies that you wish to make contact with and allow you to come up with specific queries for the representatives of those companies. You will also be able to see which positions they currently have advertised so you can customise your questions and prepare your resume.

In most cases the job applications link will lead to their external site. Don’t forget to bookmark these on the browser to return to them at a later time so as not to miss out on any live chat time.

Resume: Update your Resume prior to the Online Event

Make sure your resume is up to date and tailored to each position. A winning strategy is to try and align your resume and experiences with the job and company requirements each time.

For help on your resume, access our online Resume and Cover Letter workflow which provides you resources and templates and also allows you to upload your resume for professional feedback by our team. 

LinkedIn: Update your LinkedIn profile prior to the Online Event

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social network. You will use LinkedIn to stay connected with the people you meet at the online event and updated on developments and opportunities in the industry. 

For help on your LinkedIn profile, access our online LinkedIn workflow, which provides you resources and also allows you to upload your LinkedIn profile for professional feedback by our team. 

Practice your interview response – in particular ‘tell me about yourself’

Even when you are just informally speaking with an employer, your ability to respond to questions and engage in conversation is important to getting your point across and making a good first impression.

To practice your skills in responding to interview questions, access our Big Interview platform where you can learn and practice your interview skills. In particular we suggest the ‘tell me about yourself’ question. 

Let's break down the customised online Career Fair platform:

Exhibit Hall 

Scroll or swipe left or right to browse the available booth. You can click or tap on the booth to enter. Each booth will give you access to information, job listings and resources including documents, flyers and videos for each organisation attending the fair. 

Video Vault

Videos have been created with many of the organisations attending the fair. These videos have been created specifically for our UniSQ Students, and will tell you about their opportunities, who they look for and give some insights into their recruitment processes. These videos can also be found within their booths.

Conference Hall

Online workshop sessions will be available through the conference platform to support your career and employability development. Sessions include:

• Making a good first impression with Anja Roberts. Find out more about this session.
• Finding and Creating Career Opportunities with Stacy Nottle. Find out more about this session.

Information Desk

From the information desk you will be able to find further information about the supports offered by UniSQ Careers & Employability. 

Jobs

Browse the range of opportunities organisations attending the fair have available. Filter these opportunities by your discipline. 

Chat

Direct message or video call with the employer representatives attending the fair through the conference platform. You can chat 1-on-1 or as part of a group within the different chatrooms. 

Live chat with industry representatives will open on the 6th April from 10:30am - 2pm AEST (Brisbane Time).

Live chat with employers in real time from 10.30am - 2pm on Wednesday the 6 April (AEST) during UniSQ's Online Career Fair.

Set a Reminder: Sometimes, due to its ease of access, virtual events can be forgotten. Make sure you set a reminder in your calendar to alert you when the live chat session is about to start.

How does the chat work?

To join the chat, simply click the chat widget on the Career Fair platform (similar to below).

You will have access to:

• Direct message or video chat. 
• Group message: Join a chatroom to message those within that chatroom. These messages will be public and will be available for all participants to see. 
• Private chat: Select the individual you’d like to talk to under the ‘People’ tab to chat in private.

Who to chat with: 

During the Live Chat session try to reach out to the representatives of your shortlisted companies. Asking questions through text or video chat will enable you to gain clarity for sound decision-making and also highlight your motivation and interest in the role. You can ask questions ranging from what it’s like to work in the industry, the company culture to employee benefits and everything in between. 

Preparing a list of questions for employers beforehand will save you a lot of time in the chatroom. 

Talking topics to consider: 

You can ask questions ranging from what it’s like to work in the industry, the company culture to employee benefits and everything in between. 

- Remember you will be talking to people, not robots, and they like having conversations. You could start your conversation by:

• Introducing yourself and your interest area, and
• Ask about them - what their role is and what they do on a daily basis, or
• Ask about their background and experience.

- Ask about the role and company

• Ask about a particular role you know the company has. These questions could be about the day-to-day responsibilities in that role, the reporting structure, what the biggest challenge is, or the key skills required.
• Ask about potential growth and development within the organisation - what professional development or training do they offer? 
• Ask about the company's products or services - show particular interest in what they do, the projects they work on, and what it's like to be part of those initiatives.
• Ask about the company culture - what's the team environment like, are there social events and do they enjoy working there?

- Ask about the hiring process

• What does the company look for in an applicant?
• What can you do to better your chances of being selected?

- Ask how you can stay in touch. 

Make sure you are sitting at a quiet place, with stable internet and a compatible device.  If you feel you will use the video chat function make sure you are dressed appropriately and in a quiet and appropriate setting (no polarising posters in the background for example).

Online workshop sessions will be available through the conference platform to support your career and employability development. Sessions include:

• Making good first impression with Anja Roberts on the 4th April from 6pm – 6.45pm (AEST Brisbane Time). Book in here.
• Finding and Creating Career Opportunities with Stacy Nottle on the 5th April from 6pm – 6.45pm (AEST Brisbane Time). Book in here.

A UniSQ Careers and Employability representative will be available to chat live with you from 4 - 6th April 2022 between the hours of 10:00am – 3:00pm AEST, should you have any career-related or Career Fair questions. 

If you would like to contact us outside of these hours, please contact us on careers@usq.edu.au.