University of Manchester Careers Blog

Next week our autumn fairs are taking place in Manchester Central. The Engineering, Science & Technology fair is taking place on Wednesday 16^th and The Finance, Business & Management fair on Thursday 17^th. These fairs are not just for students they are a great opportunity for graduates to meet and network with recruiters.

Engaging with employers at fairs can be quite nerve wracking and one of the  issues the information team get asked about the most is how to approach employers and what sort of things to ask them.

Approaching employers 

• First things first dress smartly. It’s essential that you make a great first impression. I recommend suits for guys and a for women a smart skirt/trouser and shirt/blouse combination. Ladies also remember to wear sensible shoes; I’m not saying you have to wear flat shoes but wear shoes you should be able to walk in.
• Initiating a conversation with a prospective employer is often what scares people the most. But don’t panic it’s really not that hard! What I would  recommend is something like this: ‘Hello I’m Natasha I’m a 3rd year undergraduate student studying chemical engineering and I’m interested in finding out about the opportunities I could apply for within your organisation.’

Questions to ask

• Employers will not be impressed if you ask simple questions which could be answered by looking on their website so it’s essential to do your research first. Look on their recruitment pages is there anything you want to follow up or clarify with them?
• I think questions like ‘would you be able to tell me a little bit more about the roles you have available?’  and ‘I’m particularly interested in applying to your analyst stream can you tell me a little bit more about the work I would be carrying out?’  would be fine along with questions about their personal experiences such as  ‘Did you start on the graduate trainee scheme yourself? How did you find it?’
• Remember that  you ask need to demonstrate your interest and motivation in the company so be positive about the opportunities they are telling you about.
•  Make a note of the person you have been speaking to. In your formal applications you can mention that you have spoken to them.
• Why finishing you conversation remember to thank the employer for their time – It’s just polite!

For more information about the fairs and to register to attend either follow this link, you can also get more information on how best to prepare for the fair as well as a full list of the employers attending each fair.