Business Fair Reflection

For this event, there was a business fair that included many of the major businesses in the area. The minimum for the extra credit was to talk to three different companies, however, I chose to talk to nine. I talked to J.B. Hunt, 3M, Cargill, Valspar, Best Buy, and a few other companies. For each company, I would walk up to the table, introduce myself, and ask them to tell me a little bit about their company. Once they were done with their pitch about their company, we would then ask each other some more questions. They would typically ask what year I was in for school, what my major was, and what I wanted to do when I was done with college. From there, they would typically relate one of these answers to how I would fit in with their company. I then would ask if they had any internships available for the summer and they would typically either hand me their card or tell me to check their website for the application. The basic style for each of these companies varied, however, the type of information they would give was all pretty similar. Also, some company employees were more forward and expressive while others hung back and waited for me to ask most of the questions. Each person was pretty unique

which made the overall fair more interesting. An added plus to the fair were the handouts that each company gave. Some gave more informational handouts, others gave out products, and some gave out things such as pens that had the name of the company on it. Overall, it was a very informational fair.
When reassessing my experience at the fair, I found that there were six major take aways. First of all, it seems as though finance is a major that I can use in just about any job.
Also, many companies noted that one of my major skills and wants in a job, negotiation, is something that I can use in just about any career. Thirdly, I noticed that when I introduced myself first it seemed to impress the employees from the company more. Next, the fact that I was a freshman, but technically a second semester sophomore seemed to impress them. Also, the fact that I knew exactly what I want for a career and how to get there seemed to impress them. Finally, it was interesting that my most successful conversation with one of the companies was when I told 3M a fact about sticky notes that they did not know. All of these are helpful when thinking about the possibilities for my future and when preparing for an interview.
I am currently planning on double majoring in Finance and The Sociology of Law, Criminology, & Deviance. The first of these majors really seemed to interest many of the companies. Many of them brought up that there are many jobs that deal with finance and that having it as a major could make me a valuable asset to many companies. A couple of the companies commented on my second major, but it seemed as though a majority were more hung up on my Finance major. Of course, a major reason for this is because they are more focused on hiring people who know business rather than law. However, it was still reassuring to see that a Finance degree can help me find a job at almost any company.
The second major take away was that negotiation is also used in basically any work environment. Often, when I told the company employees that I wanted to be a corporate lawyer, they would ask me why. My answer to this question was that I love the idea of negotiating big deals. Many of them would then tell me about how often they make negotiations and how it was an integral part of many of the jobs within their company. Yet again, they seemed very inclined to point out that I could fit in well within their company.
The next major take away was that I noticed was the difference in reaction of the employee when I introduced myself first. In the few times that they asked me what my name is first or introduced themselves first, the rest of the conversation seemed more awkward. However, when I introduced myself first, then the conversation was more natural and they seemed more impressed by me. This shows me how important little things are when people possible future employers. You only have one chance to make a first impression and this event showed me that it is a very good thing to start off on the right foot.
The next big take away from the day was the fact that I took college credits in high school.

When people ask me what year I am in college, I tell them that I am a freshman, but due to the credits I took in high school, I am technically a second semester sophomore. Walking away from my high school with this many credits was pretty normal. However, I have learned that this is not the case with a lot of people when they graduate high school. Knowing that this could possibly be an impressive quality, I mentioned it to the different company employees. Many of them seemed rather impressed that I am further ahead than the typical freshman. This situation gave me a good chance to test this theory and now I know that I should mention it when I am in an actual interview

session.
Also, the fact that I knew exactly what I want for a career and how to get there seemed to get their attention. I could tell them what majors I was doing, where I wanted to go to law school, and what I wanted for a career. Many of them were intrigued by my ambition to be a corporate lawyer and many of the mentioned that their company does not out source for corporate lawyers. One woman, said she worked with them a lot on contracts and their ability to understand every aspect of a contract really impresses her. Hearing them discuss my future career was really interesting and allowed me to really picture what my part in a company could be like.
Finally, I learned that knowing a random relatively unknown fact about a company’s product can increase the success of the conversation. When I was talking to 3M, I asked them if they knew how stick notes work. This is one of my favorite fun facts that I like to tell and it seemed appropriate to tell them if they did not already know. They said that they did not know. So I told them that stick part of the sticky note is actually full of the tiniest little bubbles. When you press down on these bubbles, they pop. When the bubbles pop, the sticky note sticks to whatever you put it on. The guy at the table was actually so impressed by this that he decided to give me a free shopping planner (they had one out for show, but not to hand out). We talked for a little while longer and it seemed like a very successful conversation where all of us walked away learning something.
I learned a lot from this event. It was basically a bunch of short interviews, but also like a question and answer session. It was the perfect time to test out some of the things I want to try when applying for jobs in the future and learn about where I might possibly want to work. Overall, it was a fantastic learning experience.