The MBA Veterans career conference is here! It's hard to believe I have been attending this conference for five years now. First as a candidate and as a corporate sponsor for the four years.
I've seen both sides of the conference, so I know what it's like to be a candidate in a sea of short haircuts, new suits, and overly shined shoes. It can be a really confusing experience. You don't really know what you're supposed to do, what companies you're supposed to talk to, or what the heck most of them even do.
First let me tell you what it's like from the recruiting companies perspective. We pay thousands of dollars to participate in this event. More if we do the presentations and happy hours. We do all this, because we WANT to hire someone from this conference. If we don't walk away with a list of good candidates, with prospect of hiring a few, the conference was a waste of money and will probably be scrutinized by Human Resources. All the people from the companies that are there, took time away from their jobs with the sole purpose of talking to candidates.
Some advice from the hiring companies perspective:
Don't ask where to drop your resume without talking to a company representative first. Every year there are candidates that come to the conference with stacks of resumes ready to hand them out like it's a copy of their PCS orders at an in-processing station. No one takes them home and reads through them if they haven't at least spoken to you, and they definitely don't go into a magical system that will pull you out of the stack as our next CEO.
Don't just hang out at the popular booths. Go talk to some of the smaller companies. As a smaller company they likely have positions they are looking to fill immediately and can potentially expedite the process for you. Smaller companies may also have better opportunities for you to showcase your leadership abilities as they are likely less levels of hierarchy. Sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a small pond.
Narrow in on your desired functions. The more focused the better. It's ok if you don't know, but being a little introspective and taking a guess at what you might like is far better than going to the conference and "keeping your options open." Companies don't know how to hire for that. We're not looking for John Smith, we're looking for an "operations leader with five years experience leading teams in dynamic environments."
Don't just ask about the jobs available. Ask the people at the booth about what they do. Generally, people like talking about themselves. Use the opportunity to get to know people at the company. Share some things you might have in common. Building rapport at the table can ultimately land you an interview.
Take the website seriously. The companies put in a lot of time and money to get access to the candidate database. Upload your info as soon as you can, as some companies pay extra to get access early. Companies will vary on how much they use the database, but we've used it to pre-screen candidates for onsite interviews and happy hour invitations. Reach out to companies with a meaningful note as well. We read through all of them, and base initial decisions on who expressed interest.
The MBA Veterans conference is a great way to meet companies and candidates. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of all it has to offer.
See you there!