We are all excited about our first Joint PSI and Park Innovaare Career Fair, and looking forward to lots of fruitful interactions between companies and early career researchers. We cannot wait to hear your success stories. But how do you start the conversation?
As a former ETH student, I have my experience with Polymesse, a huge three-day career fair with more than 100 national and international companies showcasing career perspectives and doing their best to attract students. Together with my colleagues, we made a point of going there, knowing that it is a great opportunity to explore career options, get some hints for future applications, and maybe even land a job. We were very excited and spent hours reading the company portraits and putting together ‘good’ questions to ask the company representatives. Unfortunately, once the days of the fair arrived, we were scared. We were scared of talking to those accomplished and successful people in their business attire who had important jobs and worked on real-world problems, we were scared that our skills would not match, or that our well-thought-out questions would just show that we are clueless. We felt pretty overwhelmed by the shear number of people and companies present or the amount of information, and were constantly asking ourselves if we are good enough. A long story short, we spent most of your time at the fair hanging around the company booths hoping someone would start a conversation, only to go home frustrated and jealous of those who managed to have good conversations and receive new career perspectives and fancy give-aways.
On the few occasions we did find the courage to talk to a company representative, we were surprised how easy these conversations unfolded once we had made a (ever so clumsy) start. Fact is, those very successful and important people wanted to talk to us, they were happy to answer our questions, they were interested in our background, our skills and our plans for the future. Even better, they shared their stories and experience, provided insights into the application process or even came up with concrete advice for our application documents or interviews. Sometimes, the people we met were former students and shared stories on how they themselves had been afraid of the transition into their companies, and that it was no big deal in the end, because of all the support they received.
Considering the situation of the company representatives at the fair, their job (and goal) is to be there and answer your questions, showcasing their company as a great employer, and attracting you to apply for a position with them. They have a lot to share, but do not know what interests you most (and the last thing they want is scare you away with boring information). If you have ever experienced standing next to your conference poster and waiting for people to talk to you (or the poster session to end), you know how that feels. Moreover, you know how relieved you were about a simple ‘can you talk me through that poster?’. Therefore, be that person who starts the conversation and relieves the tension for everyone. The question ‘what opportunities do you have for someone with a [enter your research field] background?’ may do. Our companies even give you hints on questions they like to be asked, or why they participate in the fair. Just click on their logos to find out more on the career fair website.
See you at the PSI & Park Innovaare Career Fair to explore your options, interact with companies and learn about their work culture, increase your network, get hints for applications, and move your career forward!