Product Design Career Fair

Companies want interested students and alumni to stop by their table, introduce themselves, and show 1-3 projects. You can show projects on your laptop or tablet, or as physical models/printed pieces. After showing your work, employers may want your resume, so bring plenty of copies to share.

Register for the Fair

Schedule

How to Prepare

Prepare your online portfolio/website. You may also want to prepare a PDF presentation just for the career fair to make presenting your materials easy compared to a website.

Research employers that interest you by visiting their websites, social media, and do an online search to learn of any recent news, initiatives or products they have launched.

Practice introducing yourself with what's often called an "elevator pitch," a brief overview of your professional identity that may include 2-3 sentences about your education, experience, skills, and interest in that organization. For additional suggestions, check out our Elevator Pitch Handout (PDF).

Practice presenting your design work. At first, students are often too slow and indirect when describing their projects and solutions. You should be able to communicate the essence of the design problem and your approach in 2-3 sentences. It is often easier to explain your design process if you have visuals; consider creating a few process slides or a process notebook for key projects in your portfolio.

Prepare questions. Make sure that you have good questions prepared to ask employers. This shows your preparation and research; it also demonstrates that you have a genuine interest in the firm, and have specifically sought them out.

Collect contact info. At the end of the interaction, get the representative’s name and contact information so you can send a detailed thank you note and follow-up on a potential job, internship or project you may have discussed.

Dress for success. We recommend you to dress in a way that represents your authentic self. The standard at most career events is between business casual and business professional attire, but consider if your attire and grooming aligns with your personal brand. We encourage you to choose clothing that makes you feel comfortable, confident and prepared for the weather elements. For ideas on attire, check out our Dress the Part Pinterest page.

For more tips visit our Preparing for a Career Fair page.