Who are you? 

• Tell the person you’re meeting your name, your year in school, and your major. If there’s something unique about your course of study that might spark a conversation, feel free to share it! Are you double majoring in English and accounting? A history major with a minor in horticulture? Make sure to mention it! 

What experiences or interests do you have that are relevant to this employer or organization? 

• Even though the Humanities Career Exploration Fair isn’t a typical career fair in that many of the employers won’t be hiring in the moment, it’s still important to think about what experiences or interests you have that are relevant to employers. This might include: 
  • Coursework or projects that relate in some way to an organization’s work 
  • Volunteer experience 
  • Part-time jobs 
  • Past internships 

What do you want to learn, or what follow-up do you hope to have with the employer? 

• Try to have a plan in mind for advancing the conversation or encouraging follow-up conversations. The best rule of thumb for any question you’reasking is that you should show genuine interest in the employer and their work. 
  • This means that you should try to ask questions that are specific to that employer—don’t ask general questions like, “What opportunities do you have for someone like me?” or “Tell me about your organization.” 

• For the Humanities Career Fair in particular, here are some things you might think about: 
  • Ask the employer about the specific skills they look for when they hire, and especially how humanities competencies fit into that. You might ask, “What are the most important skills you look for when hiring?” or “How can applicants best highlight skills like communication or critical thinking on an application?”  
  • Ask what experiences employers recommend students pursue before graduating. You might ask something like, “What extracurricular activities do you like to see on resumes?” or “In addition to internships, what activities do you recommend students pursue to prepare them for jobs in your field?” 
  • If you’re especially interested in a certain area of the organization (their mission, a certain project they work on, etc.), ask a specific question to help you learn more.