Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your job hunting. Career Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Faire in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 career fairs scheduled for 2010 across the United States.

How do you stand out at a Career Fair? The competition can be noteworthy, but you can help yourself surpass from the crowd with early homework. At AA-Careers, we have a simple 6-step process to prepare. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:

First, investigate the organizations that are going and pick your targets. Use the web to research the organizations that are there beforehand. Go to their web sites and see if they have their job openings listed. Pick a reasonable number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than 7 in a day, and four to six is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, you want to know: executive names, recent news, and key product lines. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You should end up with a page or two of research for each company/job.

Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the terminology match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The accomplishments should be written in the style of the hiring company.

Third, create a ‘short sales pitch’ for each potential organization/position combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally describing why you are a good candidate for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job booth.

Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements and skills that most clearly match the job prerequisites. Especially at a Career Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.

Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly groomed. Don’t overdress (this isn’t a date!) and don’t underdress (no jeans or t-shirts, no matter how much you paid for them). Avoid strong cologne or perfume.

Finally, practice your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.

Remember to smile, and good hunting!