CivilianJobs.com is the site where America’s military connects with civilian careers. In addition to providing a job board and a military base newspaper, CivilianJobs.com produces military jobs fairs at bases all over the U.S. that are free for military job seekers to attend.

In the course of these many job fairs, the CivilianJobs.com team has accumulated these top tips to help military job seekers have success at these type of events:

1. Have your elevator speech ready – When attending military job fairs, transitioning service members should have not only a resume prepared but also their elevator speech ready. You’ve got only a few minutes to make a good first impression. The first thing a recruiter will ask is, “Tell me about yourself”, so be prepared with a two to three minute speech that answers this question. You’ll need to practice it a number of times, out loud, so that it sounds natural and confident.
2. Take off the blinders – Most transitioning service members who attend military job fairs will only visit the booths of companies that they are familiar with. By focusing on these large companies, a candidate can limit themselves from discovering the perfect job. Many job seekers tend to visit the companies that they know, but the perfect opportunity might be with a company you’ve never heard of. To really make the most out of military job fairs, visit each booth and talk with every recruiter.
3. Do your homework – Before a transitioning service member attends a job fair, they should spend some time researching the exhibiting companies. By knowing a little bit about the company and the job opportunities that they have available, the candidate can talk about their interest in the company and ask some relevant questions. Having an idea how your skills and experiences may fit in with a company can really help you stand out in a crowd of candidates at a military job fair.

The latest CivilianJobs.com military job fairs schedule can be found here.

Filed under: Military Job Fairs, Military Job Seeker Advice