EDUCATION CAREER FAIRS

 

WHAT IS AN EDUCATION CAREER FAIR?
An Education Career Fair is conducted in the fall and in the spring.  The spring fair is one of the largest career fairs in the United States, with over 100 schools participating.   The morning fair provides an opportunity to visit the booths and talk with recruiters from all the districts. The afternoon event is a time for one-on-one interviews, with a possibility of obtaining a second on-site interview at a later date, signing a letter of intent, or signing a contract that day.  

WHO IS INVITED?
An Education Career Fair is open to anyone interested in a career in education (teachers).  All students, all levels, and education majors, as well as alumni and the community are invited to attend.

WHO IS ATTENDING?
In addition to representatives from a number of Kansas school districts, the fair will include representatives from other states. Check the Career Fairs, Interviews, and Events page to see who is coming.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR AND PARTICIPATE IN THE CAREER FAIR? 

The Education Career Fair is designed to provide those entering (or already in) the teaching field with an opportunity to interview with school representatives who are looking to fill actual or anticipated openings. The Education Career Fair can be a vital step in your search for a teaching position - it will allow you to acquaint yourself with school personnel and their hiring needs. However, unless you are adequately prepared for them, these events can be overwhelming.

The following are a number of tips to help you make the Education Career Fair a positive job search experience.

1. Register with with Career Services - Call (620-341-5407) or visit Career Services if you have questions creating your Hire-a-Hornet account. You may turn in a consent to disclose information form at 433 South Morse Hall or by mail. Our mailing address is: Career Services, Campus Box 4014, 1200 Commercial St., Emporia, KS 66801.

2. Establish Your Credential File -All the forms you need are on our web page. You must have signed a consent to disclose information form and have two letters of reference in your file before we will send it to a prospective employer. Complete the forms and fax or mail them to our office. If you want to include an "unofficial" transcript in your file, you will need to go through the transcript office to have one sent to us. Their phone number is 620-341-5419.

3. Do Your Homework - on You -Take a close look at your strengths and weaknesses. Learn to describe your skills in terms that employers can relate to - competent, dependable, creative, enthusiastic, committed. Understand, too, that employers recognize that beginning teachers have much to learn. Honest assessment of the areas in which you would like to improve will also help you prepare to answer questions during interviews.

4. Do Your Homework - on Them - Career Services will list and update the school districts attending our Education Career Fair. The current list can be found on the Career Fairs, Interviews, and Events web page. Organize a list of the schools (in your order of priority) with whom you would like to visit. Learn as much as you can about the school districts you have targeted by visiting the district web sites to obtain information. The more data you have, the easier it will be to define and narrow your search.

5. Prepare a Resume - The resume should be an organized presentation of your skills, abilities and qualifications. It should be one to two pages in length, free of typos and printed on high-quality bond paper. Since employers will be reviewing a large number of resumes, it is vital that you do not disqualify yourself because of a typographical error. As a potential teacher, typos can be a signal to an employer that you are poorly prepared to teach others, so make sure you have others proof your final resume before uploading it to Hire-a-Hornet or printing extra copies to bring to the fair. Contact Career Services for more information or for help with your resume.

6. Practice Your Interviewing Skills - Keep in mind that school districts look at these first interviews as a way of eliminating candidates who do not meet their qualifications. Your job at the Education Career Fair is to impress the recruiter and gain an on-site follow-up interview or phone interview. Because interviews are often subjective, your enthusiasm, self-confidence, eagerness and believability will affect the outcome. You can only make one first impression, so you need to practice until you feel confident and comfortable. Participating in mock interviews is a great way to prepare for real ones. Career Services offers the opportunity to conduct a practice interview and will evaluate your effectiveness.

7. Put it All into Action! - Now that you're prepared and ready to go, good luck! Be confident and dress and act like a professional - greet each employer with a smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. The rest is up to you!

HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE CAREER FAIR?
You will register by signing in at the career fair. You will sign in, get a name tag, pick up valuable handouts, a list of schools attending, and a floor map.

HOW DO I SIGN-UP FOR INTERVIEWS AT AN EDUCATION CAREER FAIR?
If you are registered with Career Services and have uploaded a resume, you can sign up on pre-scheduled interview schedules at any time electronically. Most schools attending prefer pre-schedule sign-ups. Non-ESU students or ESU students not registered with Career Services may sign up for interviews in person at the career fair with those schools still filling their schedule.

ELECTRONIC SIGN-UP:
Electronic sign-ups will end the day before the Career Fair. If you are fully registered with Career Services and have uploaded a resume, you may sign up for interviews online in Hire A Hornet. If you have not used Hire-a-Hornet and you need assistance, call Career Services at 620-341-5407 or refer to the Hire-A-Hornet Student Guide.

Cancelling an interview:
If it is necessary for you to cancel an interview, cancel it as soon as possible to open up that slot for another person to sign up.

Remember:
If you sign up for back-to-back interviews, you will need to exit your first interview in a timely manner so as not to arrive late at your second interview. If you are late, the recruiter may cancel your interview.

WE URGE YOU TO CONSIDER INTERVIEWS WITH AT LEAST ONE OUT-OF-STATE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

1 . Check-in for the Career Fair begins at 8:00 a.m.

2 . Bring your interview schedule to the Career Fair.

3 . Bring several extra copies of your resume for last minute sign-ups.

4 . On the day of the fair, we will likely be advised of additional vacancies for which school districts will be interviewing. Last minute vacancies will be listed on bulletin boards in the Webb Lecture Hall Forum. Last minute sign-ups will take place at most school district's table.

 

5. Make sure you understand where the waiting area is for each scheduled interview. You will need to watch the table where your next interview is to take place to be ready to go to that table at the conclusion of the preceding interview.

6 . ALL CANDIDATES SHOULD DRESS PROFESSIONALLY.  This is a chance to make a first impression, and you want it to be favorable.

7 . On the day of the fair, cancellation of interviews can be done by calling 620-341-5285.

8 . The Career Services office in 433 S. Morse Hall will be closed the morning of the fair.

 

Last Updated July 7, 2008