Name: Empowering Students for Career Fairs: A Formulatic Approach
Start: 2026-04-30T15:00:00-0400
End: 2026-04-30T16:00:00-0400

Empowering Students for Career Fairs: A Formulatic Approach

Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT

551 AB

Career fairs are the flagship event for career centers. They are expensive, hard to plan, and the career center leadership put their reputations on the line in organising them. Employers spend on average $3,500 to attend a career fair, and are beginning to question their value. The key problem is lack of student preparedness. Students don’t research the companies, don’t network and follow up effectively, and don’t use the career preparedness tools made available by the school.
In this session we explore the best practices from the point of view of the employers. We have interviewed 100+ employers, and heads of career centers at 300+ higher ed institutions in the US. Using the Life Design framework, we have identified the critical skills they look for amongst students to succeed at a career fair. Finally, we bring with us one case of a school currently using a platform that supports students with these skills for career fair preparation. The discussion will address:

Networking: Demystifying how to build connections with professionals.
Elevator Pitch: Creating a concise and compelling story.
Company Research: Guiding students on what to look for and how to use that information.
Following Up: Providing a clear, actionable plan for post-fair communication.
Leveraging University Tools: Using resources in a structured way to maximize their impact.

Speakers

Christian Cruz

Manager, Career & Internship Programs, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Esau Molina

Manager, Alumni Supports, Alliance College Ready Public Schools

Aditi Agrawal

Business Operations and Strategy Lead, MyCareerCloset

I am a product strategy and business development leader with a deep-rooted passion for the retail industry. My career is defined by a unique combination of academic expertise and hands-on, startup-driven execution.
In my most recent role, I led product strategy and business development at a fast-paced startup, successfully scaling a core product across more than 100 enterprise partners. I managed the full product lifecycle from ideation to market, including conducting customer research, building
... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
551 AB 1 Sabin Street, Providence, RI

Concurrent Session

global Y

ACTE's National Work-Based Learning Conference 2026

Christian Cruz

Esau Molina

Aditi Agrawal

Attendees (78)

Get help with the event

ACTE's National Work-Based Learning Conference 2026

Christian Cruz

Esau Molina

Aditi Agrawal

Attendees (78)

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!

Get help with the event