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Comment by rzendacott | Hacker News Reader

I have a somewhat related question: How do you best present yourself at a career fair?

I did pretty well last year by being friendly and trying to show my passion for programming. This year, I'll be attending the Reflections | Projections Conference [0], and the companies I'll hopefully be talking to are on a completely different tier. What's the best way to make a lasting, memorable impression, especially if my school isn't particularly impressive? Do I mention my prior internships or side projects? Something else?

Thanks for any advice!

[0] http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/conference/2013/

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Luckily for you, the career fairs you go to in college should be your last. Once you have a job and some marketable skills, you don't want to be hanging around career fairs.

To differentiate yourself, definitely mention side projects and internships. Be sure those are on your resume - relevant links to websites, a GitHub account, or whatever else you can do to show your code. Feature them prominently on your resume, along with an internship. Keep it one page.

Also, make sure to be as personable as you can at a career fair. Chances are the people you will meet might not be engineers, but more HR and recruiting types that are basically salespeople (recruiter here) who tend to be smooth talkers. You'll want to make sure you provide firm handshakes and eye contact to avoid some of the engineering stereotypes.

Good luck

well the recent security themed fair that was held in Victoria was for those interested in security and not just recent grads.

PS the geekiest attendee was one of the young guys on the GCHQ stand :-)

There are exceptions. Here in the US, most career fairs consist primarily of larger and older companies with booths, and the attendees tend to be people who have been unemployed or unhappy for extended periods of time. If you find yourself going to career fairs a lot, it probably means you should start making better career decisions to stay marketable.

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