Katie Meyer-Griffith, Kent Campus Career Development Center coordinator, says attending free workshops will help job seekers prepare for career fairs and interviews

Florida Community College Workshops and Career Fairs open to all

By Michael Corby
FCCJ Media Relations Coordinator
March 2, 2008

Are you looking for a first job, a new job, a career change, a part-time or temporary job? You may find what you’re looking for at one of Florida Community College at Jacksonville’s three career fairs being held during March and April. All job-seekers are welcome, whether or not they are students. There’s no charge for job-seekers; however pre-registration is appreciated.

To help attendees get the most out of their experience, Downtown and Kent campuses, along with the Rosanne Hartwell Women’s Center and WorkSource, are also co-sponsoring on-campus workshops in the weeks leading up to the career fairs. As with the fairs, they are free and open to the public. Registration for workshops is required, as space may be limited.

“Preparation is key,” says Katie Meyer-Griffith, Career Development Center coordinator at FCCJ’s Kent Campus. She has proven tips and strategies to share with attendees from her experience arranging fairs at FCCJ and Florida State University.

Tip 1: Find out what employers are attending and decide which you want to visit. Look up their Web sites to find out about their companies. “The most frequent complaint I got from employers about job-seekers was that they didn’t know anything about their companies,” says Meyer-Griffith. (FCCJ Web sites listed below provide employers attending and workshop offerings.)

Tip 2: Work on your résumé. Its idea is to get you an interview. Come to a résumé workshop if you need help. When you have a quality résumé print it out on quality paper, and bring more than you think you’ll need. If you don’t, you’ll wish you had.

Tip 3: Know what to say. Start with a smile. Introduce yourself with what Meyer-Griffith calls your “elevator speech,” a less-than-one-minute statement, relevant to your purpose. “Hi, I’m Steve. I’d like to know more about the accounting jobs I saw on your Web site. I majored in Business, with a 3.8 GPA while working part-time. Could you tell me about the career path I might take with your company?”

Tip 4: Show initiative, by making your introduction, getting contact information, following up with a thank-you note. Then follow up again expressing your continued interest if you don’t hear anything.

Tip 5: “Job seekers may feel nervous about attending career fairs,” says Meyer-Griffith. “Attending workshops will help with that.”

With a little preparation it’s possible to learn how to present yourself to potential employers and find a job that not only suits your skills, but suits your new employer’s needs, making everyone happy. That’s why people come to these events!

For information about programs and events at FCCJ call 904.646.2300.