Career Fair
The 2024 Actuarial Career Fair will be held on the 23rd of September from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. Penn State is hosting this year's career fair in the Business Building Atrium. Please see the resources and information below to assist you in preparing for the career fair.
Here is the link to the Career Fair Brochure: link
The career fair is a great way to connect with recruiters and obtain interviews, but don't forget that recruiting starts long before the career fair! Three of the most important steps to take before going to the career fair are as follows:
Here is the link to the Career Fair Brochure: link
The career fair is a great way to connect with recruiters and obtain interviews, but don't forget that recruiting starts long before the career fair! Three of the most important steps to take before going to the career fair are as follows:
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Update your Resume
- Your resume should be 1-page.
- Add any new experiences since your last update. Triple check all formatting and grammar.
- Ensure both your email address and phone number are listed.
- If you have not already, visit the career center and ask for a resume review.
- Ensure you have plenty of copies; Some company reps may each want their own resume to review!
- Review the list of companies attending and identify those that have openings for which you qualify (e.g. internship vs. full-time opportunities).
- If you are interested in a particular industry, narrow the companies down to that industry.
- Identify & prioritize your top companies to focus your efforts .
- Research these companies. Be sure to know basic information such as industry and location. Review the company website and familiarize yourself with their mission statement. Read recent news articles and press releases.
- Make sure you fill out the application for these companies online in advance. For many companies, this will be the first thing they ask you at the career fair so you want to be able to demonstrate interest and say, “Yes, I already applied online!”.
- Asking questions is an easy way to start a conversation and shows that you’re prepared.
- Create a list of “need to know” questions. These are questions you will want to ask every company you interview with. You can ask about company culture, mentorship opportunities, a typical day, and anything else that is important to you!
- Prepare company specific questions. These questions could focus on recent news articles or information from a recent press release, etc.
- Your ‘Elevator Pitch’ is your opening statement to the recruiter to introduce yourself
- Prepare your elevator pitch. Start by mentioning your main attributes (name, graduation year, major, etc.) as well as major accomplishments. Include a statement about why you are interested in the particular organization or industry.
- If you want, you could add something interesting that will make you more memorable such as an interesting hobby (i.e. I run a side business as a baker).
- Practice your elevator pitch- practice, practice, practice- until you can recite it in your sleep! It may help to practice with a friend or family member.
- The standard career fair dress code is business professional.
- Ensure that you’re comfortable walking and standing in your shoes for an extended period of time!
- Plan to attend information sessions or other networking events being hosted by companies you are interested in.
- Sit close to the front and ask any questions you may have.
- Approach a company rep and introduce yourself afterward. When you attend the career fair, remind them that you met at the information session and consider citing something you learned or found interesting. This is important; companies track & remember who attended their events and who is engaged.
- Don’t forget your resumes!!!
- Bring something to write with. You will need paper and a pen in case you need to write anything down.
- If you have a padfolio to put your papers and notepad in, this would be a nice touch. If not, bring a folder to keep your resumes and notes organized.
- Start with a company that is not on the top of your list to practice having a conversation with. This will help to ease your nerves.
- Walk up and introduce yourself with a firm handshake. Show interest and enthusiasm by smiling and making direct eye contact.
- Ask the rep if they would like a copy of your resume, handing them one if they say yes.
- Recite your elevator pitch and ask a question to get the conversation started.
- Once you have introduced yourself, try to keep the conversation casual. Recruiters are people too! They are more likely to remember someone that they genuinely enjoyed the conversation with, even if the conversation steers away from actuarial science.
- Ask for their business card or contact information (email address) at the end of the conversation so that you can follow-up after the fair.
- Thank the representative for their time.
- After you walk away from their booth, jot down any notes that you did not get to write while you were talking. These can be helpful to reference if you land an interview, and will make for a stronger follow-up, even at the following year’s career fair!
- Be available to answer calls from recruiters that want to set up interviews for the next day.
- Know your schedule, and try to be as flexible as possible.
- Make sure your voicemail inbox is set up and is not full.
- If you miss a call, return the phone call promptly.
- Most of the companies attending the career fair do next day interviews. Prepare for the interviews; You can use the “Interview” section of this Career Tips page as a guide.
- Send a thank you/nice to meet you email and express your continued interest in a role following the career fair, mentioning that you already applied (as long as you’ve done so).
- Include something specific that you enjoyed discussing or learning about to make your note more memorable.
General Advice
While it is useful to have the "elevator speech" listing your achievements, keep in mind that many of the recruiters will likely be talking to over 50 other students. Therefore, you can distinguish yourself by not only explaining your unique qualifications, but also by having a conversation. Recruiters want to hire someone they can imagine working with, so having a friendly conversation (even unrelated to actuarial science) could help make you memorable. (You can work on your conversational English if you think you are lacking).
While it is useful to have the "elevator speech" listing your achievements, keep in mind that many of the recruiters will likely be talking to over 50 other students. Therefore, you can distinguish yourself by not only explaining your unique qualifications, but also by having a conversation. Recruiters want to hire someone they can imagine working with, so having a friendly conversation (even unrelated to actuarial science) could help make you memorable. (You can work on your conversational English if you think you are lacking).
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Event Attendance
The Club hosts many great events throughout the semester – we want to not only encourage you to regularly attend events, but also give you recognition when you do. For these reasons, we'll be tracking the number of events that each student attends. We also have newly implemented tiered exam reimbursement based on your attendance points. For the spring, the standard tier will be 0-3.99 points and the platinum tier will be 4+ points. You can find the exam reimbursement amounts here.
Event attendance data will be found in two places:
Event attendance data will be found in two places:
1. The Club website – You can see how your attendance compares to your friends' and aim to reach the top of the list.
2. Resume books – We will send a copy of the event attendance data exactly as it appears below to recruiters each month with the resume books. High event attendance will make you more likely to receive attention from recruiters and can differentiate you from other job/internship candidates.
2. Resume books – We will send a copy of the event attendance data exactly as it appears below to recruiters each month with the resume books. High event attendance will make you more likely to receive attention from recruiters and can differentiate you from other job/internship candidates.
Spring 2024 Event Attendance
Click this link to access the Attendance Point Sheet for this Semester! At.Display.xlsx